The nest itself is made at the end of the above-mentioned passage, and consists of a bed of straw, hay, and fibres, snugly lined with wool, hair, and feathers. The eggs, five or six in number, are of an oval shape, and have a thin, pure white shell. The young are hatched in a fortnight, and remain for a similar period under the care of their parents. Should the first family not be reared, a second brood is at once laid. The flight of the Sand Martin is so light as to bear comparison with that of the butterfly. Its voice is weak and gentle, and its disposition lively and active; it is extremely social, and lives at peace with most other birds. In its general habits it resembles its congeners, but leaves for warmer climes earlier in the year than they do, and does not reappear till about May.
THE ARIEL SWALLOW.
THE ARIEL (Chelidon Ariel).
The ARIEL SWALLOW, or FAIRY MARTIN (Chelidon Ariel), as the Australian representative of our Roof Swallow is called, is about three inches and a half in length. The upper part of its body is deep blue, the top of the head rust-red, the rump brownish white, and the tail dark brown; the eye is blackish brown, the beak black, and the foot brownish grey. According to Gould, the Ariel appears in the southern and western portions of Australia about August, and, seeking after its old haunts, lays two or three broods, and departs again in February. In some situations the nests of this species are built crowded together under eaves of houses and hollow trees, or beneath the shelter of an overhanging rock; the male birds assist in the construction of the long flask-like passage by which the actual home for the young is entered, and fetch clay for the females while employed in building.
"Until my arrival in the colony of New South Wales," says Gould, "I had no idea of the existence of this new and beautiful Martin, nor, in fact, until I was awakened by its twittering notes at the bedroom window at the inn in Maitland did I discover that I was surrounded by hundreds of this species, which were breeding under the verandahs and corners of the windows, precisely after the manner of the Common Martin. Several of their bottle-shaped nests were built round the house, and from thence I obtained as many eggs as I desired. I observed this bird throughout the district of the Upper Hunter, as well as in every part of the interior, breeding in various localities, wherever suitable situations presented themselves, sometimes in the holes of low decayed trees, while not unfrequently clusters of nests were attached to the perpendicular banks of rivers, the sides of rocks, &c., always, however, in the vicinity of water. The nest, which is bottle-shaped, with a long neck, is composed of mud or clay, and, like that of our Common Martin, is only constructed in the morning and evening, unless the day be wet or lowering. While building these nests they appear to work in small companies, six or seven assisting in the formation of each, one of them remaining within and receiving the mud brought by the others in their mouths. In shape the nests are nearly round, but vary in size from four to six inches in diameter, the spouts being eight, nine, or ten inches in length; when built on the sides of rocks or in the hollows of trees, they are placed without any regular order in clusters of thirty or forty together, some with their spouts inclining downwards, others at right angles, &c.; they are lined with feathers and fine grasses." The eggs, which are four or five in number, are sometimes quite white, or spotted or blotched with red; they are eleven-sixteenths of an inch long, by half an inch broad.
The WOOD SWALLOWS (Atticora) are delicate birds with long wings (in which the first and second quills are of equal length), forked tails, thin beaks, and slender legs, furnished with short toes; the plumage gleams with metallic lustre, and is much varied in its hues. All the species included in this group inhabit South America and Africa; they frequent woods and forests, and build their nests in the trunks of hollow trees.
THE STRIPED WOOD SWALLOW.
The STRIPED WOOD SWALLOW (Atticora fasciata) is a native of Brazil. Its plumage is black, marked with white upon the breast and under part of the thigh; the rump has a blueish gloss. The length of the body is six inches, the wing measures four, and the tail three inches. This active, lively bird frequents the forests of Northern Brazil, from whence it flies, in search of its insect fare, over the neighbouring streams and rivers, and perches or sleeps amongst the surrounding trees.