154 GLIMPSES OF INDIAN BIRDS 



perch. Telegraph wires are a very favourite resting 

 place. When these are not available the birds will 

 settle on stones or tufts of grass. 



As chimneys are scarce in the plains of India, 

 the wire-tailed swallow has to look elsewhere for 

 nesting sites. True to the traditions of its family, 

 it almost invariably elects to build on some structure 

 erected by man. Nine out of ten nests are buUt under 

 the arches of low bridges or culverts, preferably those 

 under which there is a little water Is^ng. The nest 

 projects from the arch hke a little shelf. It resembles 

 a deep saucer in shape, and is composed of a shell of 

 mud, lined with feathers. 



Wire-tailed swallows obtain the mud they use 

 from the edge of water, and carry it in the bill in 

 precisely the same way as the house martin does in 

 England. One of the prettiest sights of a London 

 suburb is to watch the house martins taking the 

 materials for their nests from a muddy road, which 

 they always contrive to do without soiling their 

 white-feathered legs. Muddy roads are not common 

 in India, hence wire-tailed swallows are not able to 

 resort to them for nest-buUding materials. 



The cup of the nest is usually fairly thick, especially 

 at the place where the nest is attached to its foundation. 

 The outside of the cup has a rugged appearance, 

 and each of the projections which it displays corre- 

 sponds to a mouthful of mud added to it by the bird. 

 According to Mr. James Aitken, the birds occupy 

 about four weeks in building the nest, " a narrow 

 layer of mud being added each day and left to dry." 



