182 TEXT-BOOK OF ZOOLOGY 



"Leipsic larks" (this abominable persecution having formerly been 

 specially carried on in the neighbourhood of Leipsic) — a base return 

 indeed for the pleasure these birds have provided for us during the 

 months of summer. 



Allied Species. 



Our two other native lark species are as inconspicuous in the colour 

 of their plumage as the skylark. The Woodlark (A. arbor ea) frequents, 

 as its name implies, wooded heaths and moors, where it warbles forth 

 tuneful airs from early morn to late evening, and even during the night. 

 The Crested Lark (A. cristata), recognisable by the tuft of feathers on 

 the head, is not so skilled a songster as its two sister-species. It is a 

 rare visitor to Britain. In winter the pangs of hunger often compel 

 the bird to accompany the sparrows, to pick up stray crumbs before 

 house-doors, or to search out a few undigested corn - grains in the 

 horsedung on the high-road. 



Family 3 : Swallows (Hirundinidae). 



The Swallow (Hirundo rustica). 



(Length 7 inches.) 



A. The Swallow as the Friend of Man. 



No bird receives a heartier welcome than the returning swallow, the 

 true harbinger of spring. With pleasure do we listen to its cheerful 

 twitter, and watch with admiration the bold turns executed by this 

 small "navigator of the air." The farmer, too, is pleased to see the 

 bird building its nest in his barn or cowshed, for its presence is 

 believed to bring him luck. He rejoices, too, in its family happiness, 

 when for the first time he sees the young birds peep forth from their 

 nest. The killing of a swallow is considered brutal, and we hear with 

 disgust of the enormous quantities of this, as of other song-birds, which 

 are captured and killed during their migration in Spain and Italy. 



B. The Swallow as a Builder. 



Immediately on its arrival the swallow inspects its old nest to see if 

 it is still habitable. If such is the case, it is cleaned out and repaired ; 

 if, however, it has fallen into decay, a new one is built. The mud on 

 the bank of a neighbouring pond forms its building material. Lump 

 by lump it carries it up in its beak, and, clasping the wall with its 

 slender feet, lays on the material layer by layer, like a mason. Its viscid 

 saliva serves as a cement. Straw, feathers, etc., are mixed with the mud, 



