NATURE'S CAROL SINGERS. 



and inside an old tennis shoe left on a 

 ledge in a boat-house. It is made of 

 pellets of mud generally intermixed with 

 straws and lined with dead grass and 

 feathers. The structure differs in shape 



according to the 



site selected for 



'J* jiilib. . . ... it. Frequently 



it is formed like 

 half or two-thirds 

 %<. r- l™^ ' ^ ' of a saucer when 



.jdSk. -• plastered against 



a wall or rafter, 

 but when on a 

 flat surface the 

 outside consists of 

 a circular wall of 

 mud. 



The eggs, num- 

 bering from four 

 to six, are white, 

 spotted and 

 blotched with 

 dark, reddish-brown, and underlying 

 specks of grey. 



This bird's song is one of the most joy- 

 ous and spontaneous in all the realms of 

 Nature, and the poet might well say : 



" Thou hast no sadness in tliy song." 



It is uttered both whilst the melodist 



246 



NEWLY-FLEDGED SWALLOW. 



