. The popular natural history . Zoology. 272 THE SWALLOW. ing a brood of young being comparatively low in price, while those which are quite new and nearly white are held in such esteem that they are worth their weight in silver. In the British Museum may be seen a very fine specimen of the nest of the Esculent Swallow, comprehending a mass of the nests still adhering to the rock. It is rather remarkable that the birds have a habit of building these curious nests in horizontal layers. The Esculent Swallow is a small bird, and its colour is brown on the upper parts of the body, and white beneat
. The popular natural history . Zoology. 272 THE SWALLOW. ing a brood of young being comparatively low in price, while those which are quite new and nearly white are held in such esteem that they are worth their weight in silver. In the British Museum may be seen a very fine specimen of the nest of the Esculent Swallow, comprehending a mass of the nests still adhering to the rock. It is rather remarkable that the birds have a habit of building these curious nests in horizontal layers. The Esculent Swallow is a small bird, and its colour is brown on the upper parts of the body, and white beneath. The extremity of the tail is â greyish white. The British Museum possesses specimens of all the Swal- lows which are known to make these curious edible nests. The elegantly-shaped and beautifully-coloured Swallow may be readily distinguished from any of its British relations by the very great elongation of the feathers which edge its tale, and which form nearly two-thirds of the bird's entire SWALLOW.â{Hirundo rustica.) It is the most familiar of all the Hirundinidae of England, and from its great familiarity with man, and the trustfulness with which it fixes its domi- cile under the shelter of human habitations, is generally held as an almost sacred bird, in common with the robin and the wren. The Swallow wages a never-ceasing war against many species of insects, and seems to be as capricious in its feeding as are the roach and other river fish. The nest of the Swallow is always placed in some locality where it is effectually sheltered from wind and rain. Generally it is constructed under the eaves of houses, but as it is frequently built within disused chimneys it has given to the species the popular title of Chimney Swallow. The bird is probably attracted to the chimney by the warmth of some neighbour fire. The nest is composed externally of mud or clay, which is brought by the bird in small lumps and stuck in irregular rows so as to build up the sides of its l
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectzoology, bookyear1884
