340 



THE NATURE BOOK 



P>n<!0!;rarli hy C. Reid, IVisha 



YOUNG SWALLOWS. 



generally silently, but sometimes uttering a 

 shrill " seep, seep " — and meanwhile show- 

 ing off, especially if the sun l)e shining, its 

 gaudy plumage to great advantage, as it 

 skims the surface of the equally reflective 

 water. Kingfishers move about in the 

 severe weather of autumn and winter, 

 haunting, perforce, the mouths of rivers 

 and estuaries, but, like most birds which 

 pair for hfe, they return year by year to 

 the same breeding-j)laces, working the self- 

 same beat of water for weeks togetlier. 

 The chosen site is usually a hole made by 

 the bird itself in marsh bank or riverside, 

 but sometimes a disused water-vole's hole 

 is used. I once found a nest in a semi- 

 decayed willow trunk. No real nest is 

 made, and the shiny, white-shelled eggs — 

 with a delicate ])ink tinge when fresh and 

 unblown — are deposited upon a few dis- 

 gorged fish bones. 



On account of its resplendent 

 feathering the Kingfisher has ever 

 been a favourite object with the 

 taxidermist and milliner, and as 

 both the artificial fly-maker and 

 pisciculturist have 1 i k e w i s e — 

 though from opposite reasons — 

 encouraged its slaughter, there is 

 httle wonder that this beautiful 

 bird does not more frequently 

 grace our inland waterways. 

 Though a most unlikely attend- 

 ant at a winter bird-table, I have 

 notes of one that was a daily 

 visitor to a lump of suet when 

 frost and snow precluded a more 

 natural diet. 



Four members of the Swallow 

 faniity are common everywhere ; 

 we will take them in order of 

 magnitude — Swift, Swallow, House 

 Martin and Sand Martin. All are 

 summer migrants, the first-named 

 being the last to come and the 

 first to go, whilst the Sand Martin 

 is one of our earliest spring 

 \'isitors. The Swift, so named 

 from its mar\-ellous power of 

 flight, is practically black — dull, 

 sooty black — all over, with a 

 faint suspicion of white upon the 

 throat ; the wings are very long 

 and scythe-like, and the tail is 

 slightly forked. It very seldom 

 settles upon the ground, but feeds 

 and drinks, as do all the Swallow birds, 

 whilst on the wing. All, too, gather nest- 

 ing materials in the same manner, except, 

 of course, the mud which the Chimney 

 Swallow and House Martin use for their 

 plastered nurseries. All except the Chim- 

 ney Swalknv nest in colonies : the House 

 Martin, or Eave Swallow, attaches its 

 nest to the outside of buildings, the 

 Chimney Swallcnv always to the inside ; 

 the Sand Martin tunnels out holes for itself 

 in the sides of gravel and sand pits and 

 railway cuttings ; whilst the Swift makes 

 use of holes in ruins and cliffs and under 

 the slates or tiles of house roofs. 



The eggs of all are white with the 

 exception of those of the Swallow proper, 

 which are spotted after the manner of the 

 Tits'. -All are d()uble-l)roock'd except 

 the Swift. The Chimney Swallow alone 

 perches on trees, except when old and 



