126 
NATURE’S CRAFTSMEN 
tree, or in belfries and cupolas. Here the night 
is spent, the very air often being black with the 
colony returning at eveningtide; and here the 
nests are made in lattice effect with twigs broken 
off by the birds while in flight, and fastened to¬ 
gether and to the support with a sticky substance 
from the builder’s mouth. Five or six pure white 
eggs are laid for a sitting, and usually two broods 
are hatched in a season. So you see that similar¬ 
ity in craftsmanship is the only thing that swifts 
and sticklebacks have in common, unless we ex¬ 
cept their remarkable courage and endurance 
and the business-like way in which their children 
are reared. It is said that the parent swifts cau¬ 
tiously crowd their little ones from the nest to 
teach them to cling to the walls and learn the 
proper use of claws, wings, and tail.” 
