2 BRITISH BIRDS 



Bird. Length 5 in. The adult male has the upper-parts 

 black, with greyish rump and white 

 forehead. Under-parts white. Tail 

 all black or black with more or less 

 white on the outer feathers. A white 

 patch on the wing. The female is 

 olive-brown above, including the fore- 

 head. Under-parts bufnsh with white 

 throat and belly. Wing patch whitish 

 or buff. The young are like those of 

 the pied-flycatcher, but may be dis- 

 ^^ 46 tinguished by their whitish or buff 



wing patches. 



Nest. Place: generally in a hole in a tree or building. 

 Materials : leaves, moss, grass, &c., lined with grasses, rootlets, 

 hair, feathers, wool. 



Eggs. Usually 6-7. Pale blue. Occasionally speckled red. 

 Av. size, -68 x -52 in. Laying begins latter half of May or 

 early June. One brood. 



(18) Family: Hirundinidce Swallows and Martins 



80. Swallow [Ghelidonrusticariistica(LiuiiSdus)- t Hirundo rwtica 

 Linnseus]. Widely distributed summer visitor. Bird of passage. 

 Bird. Length 7 '5 in. Often confused with the house-martin ; 

 but the latter is at once distinguished, 

 when in flight, from the swallow by 

 the shorter tail and wings and the 

 broad white patch on the lower part 

 of the back, just above the root of 

 the tail. Other marked differences 

 are the chestnut-red on the forehead 

 and throat of the swallow, and the 

 white feathered legs and toes of the 

 house-martin. (See also nest differ- 

 ences.) The swallow's upper plumage 

 is glossy steel blue. The tail dull 

 metallic green, with white spots, and 

 a long streamer on each side. (See 



Fig.) Under-parts mostly bufnsh with a blue band bordering 

 the chestnut of the throat. The young are distinguished by 

 the absence of the tail streamers. 



Nest. Place : usually under cover in a shed, porch, or cave. 

 Also in chimneys, and all sorts of odd places. Shape either 

 round and of varying depth, or like a half saucer, according to 

 position. Material : mud mixed with grass stems and straw, 

 and lined with grass and feathers. 



