on notes on the White-browed Wood Swallow.



81



on his neighbour’s estate, he is very suddenly and surely reminded

that his own part of the world is safer.


A comparison of the contents of all the nests invariably shows

that the whole flock commence nesting at the same time. If half-

fledged young are found in the first nest it is quite safe to expect the

same all round. On one or two occasions one pair, apparently over¬

taken by misfortune on the first attempt, has been found a week or

more behind the others.


The nest is a shallow structure, usually composed of twigs,

grasses, and fine roots, bearing the unmistakable imprint of hasty

construction. Building operations take, on an average, about three

days. The position chosen also indicates a certain amount of care¬

lessness. Any small hush, straggling or otherwise, is availed of, and

the nest dumped in an upright fork or on a horizontal branch. Very

often it is easily discernible from a hundred yards off. The eggs,

most often two in number, are of a slaty stone colour, heavily blotched

with darker markings.* One of the photographs reproduced gives

a fair impression of the class of shrub selected, the general build of

the nest, and the appearance of the eggs. It will be noticed that one

of the eggs shown is of unusual shape, being much longer than the

other, which was a normal one. This was very noticeable in the eggs

themselves.! It was quite a disappointment to find on a subsequent

visit that apparently the business part of the egg was normal, as the

chicks were identical. Both parents take part in incubation and in

the feeding of the young. The eggs hatch in about twelve days, and at

the end of another twelve the nestlings are well covered with streaked

light grey feathers, and are showing a strong inclination to be moving.

They are fed throughout on insects obtained in the air and on the

ground. The wisdom of the grey-streaked plumage of the young

becomes apparent when one searches for a family either in the dry

grass or on a dead tree. A well-maintained silence when in danger

completes their protection.



* [We have before us an egg of the allied Artamus sordidus taken at Moora, West

Australia, on September ‘20tli, 1908. It is of a pale cream colour, spotted

with greenish-grey and purplish-grey. — G. R.]

j [Similar discrepancies occur in clutches laid by our own Stone Plover or Thick-

knee (CEdicnemus scolopax), the two eggs often differing considerably in

shape.—G. Pk.]



