. British birds' nests; how, where, and when to find and identify them . mesthe right and at others the left) is a trifle longerthan the other ; chin and throat chestnut. Roundthe lower part of the throat and upper part ofthe breast is a broad steely-blue collar ; lower breast,belly, vent, and under tail-coverts buffy wdiite;legs, toes, and claws short, slender, and black. The female is not so richly marked in herplumage, and her tail is not so long. Hitiiation and Locality.—Generally, as shown inour illustration, on the rafter of a barn, stable, orshed. Sometimes on ledges and other projectio
. British birds' nests; how, where, and when to find and identify them . mesthe right and at others the left) is a trifle longerthan the other ; chin and throat chestnut. Roundthe lower part of the throat and upper part ofthe breast is a broad steely-blue collar ; lower breast,belly, vent, and under tail-coverts buffy wdiite;legs, toes, and claws short, slender, and black. The female is not so richly marked in herplumage, and her tail is not so long. Hitiiation and Locality.—Generally, as shown inour illustration, on the rafter of a barn, stable, orshed. Sometimes on ledges and other projectionsin chimneys and from walls. I recollect oncefindinsf one inside an old disused mountain lime-kiln. We discovered several nests in a Surreybothy last summer that were built against thewdiitewashed wall, and were exactly like those ofthe Martin, except that the tops were open. Un-fortunately, our photograph turned out a failure,and when we returned to the district a few weeksafter, for the express purpose of securing a picture,some farm boys had destroyed the SNA^ALLOW. 278 BRITISH BIRJ)s XESTS. Materials.—Mud, stniws, dry grass, and feathersill liberal quantities. Eggs.—Four to six, generally five, white, speckledand blotched ^\ith dark red-brown, and underlyingmarkings of ash-grey. The markings are generallymost numerous round the larger end. I have seeneggs once or twice with hardly any marking onat all. Size about -83 by -do in. Time.—May, June, July; and sometimes eggsmay be met with as late as the beginning of x\ugust. Eemarls. — Migratory, arriving in April anddeparting in September and October. Notes, ivet-wet, a warbling kind of song note, and 2)i)il-, pinkw^hen the bird is alarmed. Local and other names :Barn Swallow, House Swallow, Chimney Swallow,Common Swallow. Not a very close sitter untilincubation has advanced some stages. SWAN, MUTE, Description of Parent Birds.—Length, fromabout four feet eight inches to five feet; beakfairly long, black on
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectbirdsne, bookyear1898
