WOOD SWALLOW. — - A'rtamus Sordidm . , 
The Wood Swallows, as they are termed, are found in many pails of the 
globe. 
The common Wood Swallow, or Sordid Thrush, is common in Australia. 
This Wood Swallow is remarkable for a habit which is perhaps unique among 
birds, and hitherto has only been observed in certain insects. A large flock of 
these birds will settle upon the branches of a tree, and gather together in a large 
cluster, precisely like bees when they swarm. Four or five birds suspend 
themselves to the under side of the bough, others come and cling to them, and 
in a short time the whole flock is hanging to the bough like a large swarm of 
bees. Mr. Gilbert, who first noticed this curious habit, states that he has seen 
the swarms as large as an ordinary bushel measure. 
The nest of the Wood Swallow is cup-shaped and rather shallow, and is made 
of very slender twigs bound and lined with delicate fibrous roots. The locality 
in which the nest is placed is extremely variable, the bird seeming to be wonder- 
fully capricious in its choice of a fit spot whereon to fix its residence. Some- 
times it is placed in a low forked branch, at another time it will be buried 
in thick massy foliage, while it is sometimes found fixed against the trmik 
of a tree, resting on some protuberance of the bark, or lodged within some 
suitable cavity. The eggs are about four in number, are greyish-white, 
speckled and mottled very variably with grey and white. 
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