130 IN BERKSHIRE FIELDS 



of course, these swallows built in hollow trees. But 

 a pair of them, flying over Plymouth in 1621, spied 

 something which looked like a new kind of tree, 

 and the breed was on its way to a new procedure. 



Perhaps the fact that chimneys are safer from 

 squirrels, 'coons, owls, and other possible enemies 

 was a factor in determining the change. Then, too, 

 it is undoubtedly easier to find chimneys to-day 

 than hollow trees. I well remember, as a boy, 

 hearing a noise in one of our chimneys and pulling 

 out the stovepipe-hole cap in my chamber. There, 

 directly opposite the opening, perched on a pro- 

 truding brick, a swift was building a nest of sticks! 

 I watched the whole process, fascinated by the 

 sticky mucilage which the bird secreted in her 

 salivary glands to fasten the sticks together, and, 

 after the mother was sitting, gradually got her so 

 tame — or, rather, sufficiently subdued her wildness 

 — that she would remain occasionally on the nest 

 when the cap was removed. My great desire was to 

 see how she got the young birds up the chimney 

 after they were large enough to leave the nest, but, 

 alas! that feat was accomplished one day when I 

 wasn't looking. I felt certain then that she must 

 have carried them up in her bill, though I was 

 laughed at for my belief. Curiously enough, I 

 have never had another chance, myself, to watch. 

 Those who have say the young birds hop and 

 climb with their toes, following the mother. 



The robin, the phcebe, and the chipping-sparrow 

 are all birds who will often nest on our houses, but 

 also often nest elsewhere. The tame and pretty 

 phcebes frequently raise two broods, and build their 



