BIRDS OF PEASEMARSH 



had faith in their adaptability and felt sure 

 they would be satisfied and glue their little nest 

 of sticks on the inside wall, as they had done in 

 the old chimney. 



No birds have a more remarkable way of 

 building their nests. They break the twigs, of 

 which they are made, from the trees, and glue 

 them to the chimney with saliva from their 

 mouths. If a hot fire should be built after the 

 nest is finished there is danger that the glue 

 will melt and let it down. With the memory 

 of the Chimney Swifts comes the memory of 

 cool June evenings when the fire was not 

 started for fear of bringing some calamity to 

 the nest or nestlings in the chimney above. 



Poor little Chimney Swifts, they are all too 

 few! Modern roofing, modern chimneys and 

 people with most precisely modern ideas as to 

 heating are fast forcing these innocent little 

 creatures out from among us. And where can 

 they go? When the land was settled by the 

 white man they came to his chimneys from the 

 caves and the hollow trees, where they had 

 natural chimneys. Now the white man has 

 disposed of those natural nesting places. If 

 he no longer allows them a place in his 



[26] 



