CHAPTER IX 

 MORE MASONS 



Universal favourites Chimney swallows A peculiar taste A safe 

 spot Building materials House martins Firm foundations " In 

 the weather on the outward wall" A piteous sight Australian 

 relatives Bottle nests Working in gangs The oven-bird's home 

 "Johnny Clay" A reputation for piety A well-built house- 

 Singing duets A burial The Syrian nuthatch Love of building 

 Hornbills A willing prisoner Feeding the prisoners Storming the 

 prison A miserable object Amphibians The family genius Frogs 

 building walls. 



A LTHOUGH at first sight birds appear to be but poorly 

 /\ equipped for mason's work even of the primitive 

 kind which is most usual amongst animals, that is to 

 say, the building of mud houses yet many species pursue 

 this industry with remarkable success. Amongst these birds 

 two kinds are well known to everybody the swallow and the 

 house martin. Because of their association with the coming 

 of summer, their swift, graceful movements in flight, and 

 their delicately clean, spick-and-span appearance, few birds 

 are more gladly welcomed than these when they return 

 home to our shores after a long absence in the South. 

 Universal favourites as they are, it is surprising or it 

 should be so how many people fail to distinguish the two 

 species, notwithstanding the very obvious difference between 

 them ; few facts show more clearly how lamentably un- 

 observant we are, and how completely we may fail to 

 perceive what is around us. 



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