SWALLOWS AND MARTINS 



539 



fhtto bj 7. T. Ntwman 



A PAIR OF WRENS 



Known nearly everywhere at the " Kitty " or " Jenny " JVren 



made of dry grass and moss, 

 lined with horse-hair and covered 

 externally with spider-webs and 

 lichens, is usually placed in 

 some sheltered position, such as 

 a crevice in the bark of a tree 

 or in the creepers covering the 

 trellis-work of a house ; and 

 owing to the skilful way in which 

 it is covered externally, so as 

 to resemble its surroundings, is 

 difficult to find. 



The SWALLOWS and 

 MARTINS constitute an exceed- 

 ingly well-defined group of birds, 

 and one which holds a con- 

 spicuously high place in the 

 regard of mankind, finding a 

 welcome everywhere on account of the great benefits they confer by the removal of insect- 

 pests in the shape of the smaller gnats and flies. These, were they not kept in check 

 by the Swallow Tribe, would render most parts of the world uninhabitable. Rarely seen 

 upon the ground, save when procuring mud for the construction of their nests, the birds of 



this group are all peculiarly strong fliers, 

 turning and twisting with the greatest 

 speed and precision. All have very short 

 beaks and wide mouths, long wings and 

 tails, and small and weak feet. 



A large number build their nests of 

 mud, collected in small pellets and held 

 together by the secretion of the salivary 

 glands. These nests are commonly more 

 or less cup-shaped, and fastened under 

 the eaves of dwelling-houses or other 

 buildings, or placed on a convenient 

 beam or other ledge. The RED-RUMPED 

 SWALLOWS and FAIRY MARTINS species 

 enjoying an enormous distribution, 

 being found in India, Africa, America, 

 and Australia build very large flask- 

 shaped nests, having the entrance pro- 

 duced into a funnel often eight or 

 nine inches in length. Others, like the 

 SAND-MARTIN, excavate long tunnels, ter- 

 minating in larger chambers, in the faces 

 of sand-banks a performance which must 

 certainly be regarded as wonderful, when 

 one realises the feeble tools with which 

 the task of excavating has to be per- 

 formed. Some species utilise the holes 

 made by other birds, in one species this 



Photo by Scnolaitic Photo. Co 



COMMON WRENS, WITH NEST BUILT IN 

 PHEASANT'S SKELETON 



In winter -wrens ha-ve a custom of seeking some hole or other convenient 

 shelter and huddling together in small forties for the sake of warmth 



hole being itself bored within the burrow 

 of the viscacha. 



