HIKUNDINID^E. 279 



one must have noticed, is not always for the purpose 

 of drinking, but for the purpose of catching those 

 funny little coleopterous insects which abound in 

 every pool, and which he calls " whirlygigs" I sup- 

 pose from their curious mode of progression. The 

 May-fly is a favourite dainty for the Swallow and for 

 all its congeners, as it is for all other fly-eaters. 



The nest of the Swallow is usually placed against 

 the sides of an unused chimney, or amongst the 

 rafters of a linhay or out-house. Yarrell mentions 

 that a pair of Swallows made their nest in an open 

 drawer in an unused garret, to which they obtained 

 access through a broken pane of glass : he also says 

 that another pair attached their nest to the body and 

 wing of an Owl that had been nailed against a barn- 

 door. The nest of the Swallow is made of clay or 

 mud, much in the same way as that of the Martin, 

 the chief difference being in the situation, the Swal- 

 low generally choosing some place where its nest is 

 quite under the protection of a roof; the Martin, on 

 the other hand, being contented with the slight pro- 

 tection afforded by the overhanging eaves or thatch 

 of a building. Both Swallows and Martins may be 

 constantly seen collecting materials for their nests 

 at the edge of some muddy puddle or pond, and in 

 wet weather on the roads, which (except the occa- 

 sional instances above mentioned) is the only time 

 they are ever seen on the ground. 



The beak of the Swallow is black, and small for 



