RED-LETTER DAYS AMONG BIRDS 



69 



I have known the Swallow to build an exposed nest in the 

 branches of a Horse Chestnut tree, quite an unusual site, and in 

 1915 I received details of a pair of these familiar birds which 

 completed a nest at Hitchin within twenty-jour hours of their 

 arrival. 



FIG. 32. AFRICAN CROWNED CRANE. 



The Swift is, to a great extent, a mysterious aerial voyager. 

 Except when rushing through the air at breakneck speed, scream- 

 ing as it goes, it does not lend itself to close observation. The 

 air is its natural element, and, if it chances to come to ground, 

 it experiences difficulty in rising again, owing to the shortness 

 of its legs, and its length of wing. It must have some eminence 

 from which to throw itself, as it were, and, if a specimen is dis- 

 covered, it should be held in the hand and then gently tossed 

 into the air (see Fig. 31). 



During the memorable Winter of 1916-17 many rare birds 

 passed through my hands. One day I picked up a live Curlew 

 sadly in need of sustenance. It lived for two hours before finally 



