88 THE OPEN AIR, 



eave-swallow, to which I have chiefly alluded, and the 

 chimney- swallow, there is the swift, also a roof-bird, 

 and making its nest in the slates of houses in the 

 midst of towns. These three are migrants in the 

 fullest sense, and come to our houses over thousands 

 of miles of land and sea. 



Eobins frequently visit the roof for insects, especi- 

 ally when it is thatched ; so do wrens ; and the latter, 

 after they have peered along, have a habit of perching 

 at the extreme angle of a gable, or the extreme edge 

 of a corner, and uttering their song. Finches occa- 

 sionally fly up to the roofs of country-houses if 

 shrubberies are near, also in pursuit of insects ; but 

 they are not truly roof-birds. Wagtails perch on roofs ; 

 they often have their nests in the ivy, or creepers 

 trained against walls ; they are quite at home, and 

 are frequently seen on the ridges of farmhouses. Tits 

 of several species, particularly the great titmouse and 

 the blue tit, come to thatch for insects, both in 

 summer and winter. In some districts where they 

 are common, it is not unusual to see a goatsucker or 

 fern-owl hawk along close to the eaves in the dusk of 

 the evening for moths. The white owl is a roof-bird 

 (though not often of the house), building inside the 

 roof, and sitting there all day in some shaded corner. 

 They do sometimes take up their residence in the 

 roofs of outhouses attached to dwellings, but not often 

 nowadays, though still residing in the roofs of old 

 castles. Jackdaws, again, are roof-birds, building in 

 the roofs of towers. Bats live in roofs, and hang 

 there wrapped up in their membranous wings till 

 the evening calls them forth. They are residents in 



