SWALLOWS.
[To THE EDITOR OF TEE "SyEcTATort."] Sin,—In the Spectator of August 25th I observe an interesting letter on the above subject. Of the barn swallow your con respondent writes : "They nest twice a year, never using the same nest." Now this statement must be qualified, I think, as the following incident will show. Last year a pair of swallows commenced to build on the projecting ledge of a pillar supporting the porch of my house. They had reared a brood in the same place the year previous, and their presenct was found to be rather objectionable on the score of cleanliness,. My wife accordingly instructed the gardener to remove the half-built nest, and, to deter the birds from renewing the wonl of building, a small earthenware jar was placed on the ledge After the lapse of a few days the birds were observed to b■ flying into the porch, and an examination showed that the nes was being built on the top of the jar. We did not interfere wit! this second attempt, and the result was a brood of four yount birds, which in due time were fledged. The nest had not beet vacated much more than a week, when the old birds were back at it, and again a family of four was reared. While on the subject of birds it may be interesting to some of yout readers to hear of the proceedings of a pair of thrushes whict came under my observation three years ago. About twelve feet from one of the windows of my dining room grows a large Auricaria, and on one of the branches, close to the stem, and on a level with the sill of the window, a nest was com- menced. The position was most favourable .for observation, and day by day we watched the pair of busy thrushes at their work. In the natural course of events the young appeared and grew apace. One day we noticed that only three young birds were in the nest instead of four, and we found that one had been pushed over the side of the nest and lost. Soon the
family left the old home, and after the usual help to start them in life, the parents found leisure to inspect the empty nest They evidently thought that with a little necessary repairs it might be utilised for the rearing of another brood. They seemed to remember, however, the sad loss of one of their former family, and concluded that the nest was too shallow for safety. They accordingly set about the work of raising the sides, and when the repairs were completed, the nest had the curious appearance of a ring of bright-coloured material, about three-quarters of an inch deep, all round. In this enlarged nest they successfully reared a brood of four.—
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