332 HOMES WITHOUT HANDS. 



The curious flask-shaped nests which are seen in the illustra- 

 tion are built wholly of clay and mud, and are made by a beauti- 

 ful little Australian bird named the Fairy Martin ( Hirundo 

 Ariel), closely allied, as its generic name signifies, to the swallows 

 and martins of our own country. The bird is spread over the 

 whole of Southern Australia, where it arrives in August, and 

 whither it departs in September. 



These remarkable nests are generally to be found upon rocks, 

 and are always close to rivers, but have never been seen within 

 many miles of the sea. Now and then, however, the bird chooses 

 another locality, and, instead of fixing its nests to the side of a 

 rock, attaches them to the interior of one of the huge hollow trees 

 which are so common in Australia. Now and then it behaves 

 like the martin of England, and builds' its nest under the protec- 

 tion of human habitations. 



The shape of the nests always resembles that of a flask or re- 

 tort, and their size is extremely variable, the length of the spouts 

 or necks being from seven to ten inches, and the diameter of the 

 bulb varying from four to seven inches. Mr. Gould mentions, in 

 his work on the Birds of Australia, that each nest is the joint 

 work of several birds, six or seven being sometimes employed 

 upon one nest, one sitting in the interior, as chief architect, ar- 

 ranging and smoothing the material, while the others go off in 

 search of mud and clay, which they knead well in their mouths 

 before applying it to the nest. 



As is generally the case with clay which is thus kneaded, it be- 

 comes very hard when baked in the sun, but, at the same time, is 

 rather slow in drying. When the weather is dry, the bird can 

 only work in the mornings and evenings, because the heat of the 

 sunbeams soon renders the clay too stiff to be worked by the del- 

 icate beaks of the birds; and, therefore, in the middle of the day, 

 the Fairy Martins cease from their architectural labors, and do 

 nothing but chase flies. During wet weather, however, when no 

 flies are abroad, and the air is full of moisture, the birds work con- 

 tinually at their nests, and soon complete their labors. 



The exterior of the nest is quite as rough as that of the com- 

 mon English martin, but in the interior it is beautifully smooth. 

 The birds do not seem to have any particular care about the 

 point of the compass toward which the entrance looks, but ar- 

 range it indifferently in any direction. 



The Fairy Martin is a prolific little bird, laying four or five 

 eggs, and rearing two broods in a year. 



