12 
NATURE NOTES. 
of the Starling, which came out on to the pipe, but after thinking 
it over for a moment went back to expostulate. There was more 
screaming, and when the starling came out again its feathers 
were flying. It went away and the Swift was left in peace, and 
reared her own family. If you will permit a Swift to grip one 
of your fingers with its sharp and hooked claw r s, you will be able 
to sympathise with the Starling. A Swift will not turn a Star- 
ling out if the latter is in possession ; but in this case the 
Starling had left the nest and had come back too late. As far 
as I have been able to observe, Swifts and Sparrows and Star- 
lings generally respect one another’s rights of property. 
The Swifts build their own nests, and very neat little 
structures they sometimes are. Small shallow cups with firm 
hard walls, cemented together with the viscous saliva of the 
builders. I have seen these nests built of small bits of material, 
such as lichens and moss, and they are then very neat and very 
hard. But more often grass is largely used in their composition 
and then they are not so tidy. Of course, if a Swift finds a 
nest ready made, it does not take much trouble about building 
a new one for itself. 
Very careful watching is required to see the Swifts bringing 
materials to their nests. One summer, early in June, having 
just read Gilbert White’s monograph, I went and stood for 
some hours under the eaves of the church on the south side, 
and was rewarded by seeing several Swifts come again and 
again with bents of dry grass in their beaks. This was not 
easy to detect, for the air presses the material so close against 
the bird’s breast that it can only be seen at a very short dis- 
tance. One returned with a feather. The bits of dry grass 
were picked up by the birds as they skimmed over the meadows- 
hard by. Since finding out at that time that they had consider- 
able difficulty in procuring materials, I have always supplied 
them with feathers. These I scatter on a windy day from the 
sound-holes in the belfry, and though there may be but few 
Swifts flying round at the time, the rest are soon made aware 
of what is happening, and come in numbers to gather the 
feathers, which I always take care shall be white, as they can 
be seen further than others, and attract the attention of the 
birds sooner. It is a very pretty sight to see them swooping 
at the feathers and racing for them, sometimes from opposite 
directions, but with never a collision. I have often had them 
take the feathers at a distance of a few feet from w r here I stood 
on the steps of the Cross in the churchyard. A bird will not 
be content with one feather, but will pursue others until it has 
quite a burden to take to its nest, which it sometimes finds 
difficult to reach in the high wind. When in the belfry I have 
seen these feathers brought up to the nests close to my feet. It 
would seem that both sexes collect them, for I have seen the 
two come feather-laden to their nest, and soon it is difficult 
to discover a Swift without a feather in its mouth or holding 
aloof from the chase. When feathers are not given to them 
