. The popular natural history . Zoology. THE FAIRY MARTIN. 273 with its sharp little claws to any small projection, and sticking itself by the pressure of its tail against the wall. The interior of the nest is lined with grass and other soft substances. There are sometimes two broods in the year, and when the second brood has been hatched at a very late period of the year, the young are frequently deserted and left to starve by their parents, who are unable to resist the innate impulse that urges them to seek a warmer climate. When fully fledged, and before they are forced to migrate, the youn
. The popular natural history . Zoology. THE FAIRY MARTIN. 273 with its sharp little claws to any small projection, and sticking itself by the pressure of its tail against the wall. The interior of the nest is lined with grass and other soft substances. There are sometimes two broods in the year, and when the second brood has been hatched at a very late period of the year, the young are frequently deserted and left to starve by their parents, who are unable to resist the innate impulse that urges them to seek a warmer climate. When fully fledged, and before they are forced to migrate, the young birds generally roost for the night in osiers and other water-loving trees. Except in confinement, the Swallow knows not the existence of frost, nor the extreme of heat, passing from Europe to Africa as soon as the cold weather begins to draw in, and migrating again to the cooler climes as soon as the temoerature of its second home becomes inconvenient to its sensitive. FAIRY MARTIN.—(Hiruudo Ariel.) existence. The time of its arrival in England is various, and depends almost entirely on the state of the weather. Solitary individuals are now and then seen in very early months, but, as a general fact, the Swallow does not arrive until the second week in April ; the time of its departure is generally about the middle of September, although some few lingerers remain in the country for more than a month after the departure of their fellows. Guided by some wondrous instinct, the Swallow always finds its way back to the nest which it had made, or in which it had been reared, as has frequently been proved by affixing certain marks to individual birds, and watching for their return. Sometimes it happens that the house on which they had built has been taken down during their absence, and in that case the distress of the poor birds is quite pitiable. They fly to and fro over the T. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhan
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectzoology, bookyear1884
