146 The Natural History 



of an old well, through which chalk had been formerly 

 drawn up for the purpose of manure : but in general 

 with us this hirujido breeds in chimneys ; and loves to 

 haunt those stacks where there is a constant fire, no doubt 

 for the sake of warmth. Not that it can subsist in the 

 immediate shaft where there is a fire ; but prefers one 

 adjoining to that of the kitchen, and disregards the per- 

 petual smoke of that funnel, as I have often observed with 

 some degree of wonder. 



Five or six or more feet down the chimney does this 

 little bird begin to form her nest about the middle of 

 May, which consists, like that of the house-martin, of a 

 crust or shell composed of dirt or mud, mixed with short 

 pieces of straw to render it tough and permanent ; with 

 this difference, that whereas the shell of the martin is nearly 

 hemispheric, that of the swallow is open at the top, and 

 like half a deep dish : this nest is lined with fine grasses, 

 and feathers which are often collected as they float in 

 the air. 



Wonderful is the address which this adroit bird shows all 

 day long in ascending and descending with security through 

 so narrow a pass. When hovering over the mouth of the 

 funnel, the vibrations of her wings acting on the confined 

 air occasion a rumbling like thunder. It is not improbable 

 that the dam submits to this inconvenient situation so low 

 in the shaft, in order to secure her broods from rapacious 

 birds, and particularly from owls, which frequently fall 

 down chimneys, perhaps in attempting to get at these 

 nestlings. 



The swallow lays from four to six white eggs, dotted 

 with red specks ; and brings out her first brood about the 

 last week in June, or the first week in July. The pro- 

 gressive method by which the young are introduced into 

 life is very amusing : first, they emerge from the shaft with 

 difficulty enough, and often fall down into the rooms below: 

 for a day or so they are fed on the chimney-top, and then 

 are conducted to the dead leafless bough of some tree, 

 where, sitting in a row, they are attended with great 

 assiduity, and may then be called perchers. In a day or 

 two more they become flyers, but are still unable to take 



