i68 
NATURAL HISTORY 
In Sweden flie builds in bams, and is called ladu fivala, the barn- 
fwallow. Bcfides, in the warmer parts Europe there are no chim- 
nies to houfes, except they are Englijh-built : in thefe countries 
flie conftrufts her nefl: in porches, and gate-ways, and galleries, 
and open halls. 
Here and there a bird may afFeft fome odd, peculiar place ; as 
we have known a fwallow build down the fliaft of an old well, 
through which chalk had been formerly drawn up for the purpofe 
of manure: but in general with us this hirundo breeds in chimnies; 
md loves to haunt thofe ftacks where there is a conftant fire, no 
doubt for the fake of warmth. Not that it can fubfift in the 
immediate fhaft where there is a fire ; but prefers one adjoining t-o 
that of the kitchen, and difregards the perpetual fmoke of that 
funnel, as 1 have often obferved with fome degree of wonder. 
Five or fix or more feet down the chimney does this little bird 
begin to form her neft about the middle of May, which confifts, 
like that of the houfe-martin, of a cruft or fliell compofed of dirt 
or mud, mixed with fliort pieces of ftraw to render it tough and 
-permanent ; with this difference, that whereas the fliell of the 
martin is nearly hemifpheric, that of the fwallow is open at the top, 
and like half a deep difh : this neft is lined with fine graffes, and 
feathers which are often collefted as they float in the air. 
Wonderful is the addrefs which this adroit bird fhews all day 
long in afcending and defcending with fecurity through fo narrow 
a pafs. When hovering over the mouth of the funnel, the vibra- 
tions of her wings acting on the confined air occafion a rumbling 
like thunder. It is not improbable that the dam fubmits to this 
inconvenient fituation fo low in the fhaft, in order to fecure her 
broods from rapacious birds^ and particularly from owls, which 
frequently 
