I90 STRANGE DWELLINGS. 



the heat of the sunbeams soon renders the clay too stiff to be 

 worked by the delicate beaks of the birds ; and, therefore, in 

 the middle of the day, the Fairy Martins cease from their 

 architectural labours, 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 continually at their nests, and 

 soon complete their labours. 



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

 common 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 towards which the entrance 

 looks, but arrange it indifferently in any direction. 



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

 eggs, and rearing two broods in a year. 



We have several builders among our British birds, the best 

 known of which is the common House Martin {Chelidon urbica), 

 whose nests are so plentiful upon the walls of our houses. 



The material of which the nests are built is a kind of mud, 

 which becomes tolerably hard when dry, and is strong enough 

 to exist for a series of years, and to serve for the bringing up of 

 many successive broods. The bird is exceedingly capricious 

 as to the spot which it selects for its residence, some houses 

 being crowded with the mud-built nests, while others are free 

 from them. The points of the compass are always noted by 

 the Martin, for there are some points which it clearly detests, 

 while it is equally fond of others. A wall with a north-eastern 

 aspect is a favourite locality, while a southern wall is seldom 

 chosen, probably because the heat of the meridian sun might 

 dry the mud too quickly, or might cause inconvenience to the 

 young birds. 



My own house, however, forms an exception to this general 

 rule, for the Martins have chosen to build on the south wall 

 only, probably because the eaves project so far that after nine 

 A.M. the nests are in shadow. Moreover, there is a narrow 

 ledge, barely an inch in width, which runs under the eaves, and 

 forms a support for the nests. While the Martins were engaged 



