CHAPTER XII. 



SOME FOREIGN BIRD ARCHITECTS. 



AUSTRALIA is an earthly paradise for -the natu- 

 -tlralist, containing endless wonders of plant and 

 animal life -forms of life, indeed, that we shall meet 

 with nowhere else. Strange insects, strange reptiles 

 and birds, strange mammals, strange and wonderful 

 plants abound, while the seas that bathe its coasts swarm 

 with wonders of the deep. Of its birds, many are 

 beautiful and expert craftsmen, building both dainty 

 and remarkable nests. The delightfully graceful little 

 Fairy Martin takes the place of our House Martin in 

 Australia, crowding its nests together under the eaves 

 of houses, or, in the sparsely populated districts, under 

 the shelter afforded by some overhanging crag on the 

 face of a cliff. " The nest," writes Gould, " which 

 is bottle-shaped with a long neck, is composed of mud 

 or clay, and, like that of our common martin, is only 

 constructed in the morning and evening, unless the day 

 be wet or lowering. While building these nests they 

 appear to work in small companies, six or seven assisting 

 in the formation of each, one of them remaining within 

 and receiving the mud brought by the others in their 

 mouths. In shape the nests are nearly round, but vary 



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