Homes Without Hands: Being a Description of the Habitations of Animals, Classed According to Their Principle of Construction
Strong as is the nest, it is still farther strengthened by a peculiarity in the architecture, which is not visible from the exterior. If one of the nests be carefully divided, the observer will see that the interior is even more singular than the outside. Crossing the nest from side to side is a wall or partition, made of the same materials as the outer shell, and reaching nearly to the top of the dome, thus dividing the nest into two chambers, and having also the effect of strengthening the whole structure. The inner chamber is devoted to the work of incubation, and within it is a soft bed of feathers on which the eggs are placed. The female sits upon them in this dark chamber, and the outer room is probably used by her mate. The reader will remember that several instances of such supplementary nests have already been mentioned. The eggs are generally four in number.
Both sexes work at the construction of the nest, and seem to find the labor rather long and severe, as they are continually employed in fetching clay, grass, and other materials, or in working them together with their bills. While thus employed they are very jealous of the presence of other birds, and drive them away fiercely, screaming shrilly as they attack the intruder.
AUSTRALIA produces the two remarkable birds whose nests are given in the accompanying illustration.
The first of these feathered builders is the PIED GRALLINA (Grallina Australis), a bird which has become familiar to the public since its introduction to the Zoological Gardens. A pair of these birds have lived for some time in the Aquarium House, and have always attracted much attention as they fly to and fro in the large inclosure which is dedicated to them, to the dabchicks, kingfishers, wagtails, and other water-loving birds. Owing to the bold contrasts of black and white in their coloring they are very conspicuous, and their restless movements always attract the eye.
Although in its shape the nest of the Pied Grallina does not resemble that of the Oven Bird, the materials with which it is constructed are almost identical, consisting of mud and clay, in which are interwoven certain sticks, grasses, feathers, and stems of plants, which serve to bind the clay together, just as cow's hair binds together the plaster on our walls.
Fairy Martin.
<!-- pandi-media-anchor:figure-p338-o54-9141a33a44c35089 -->Pied Grallina.
When looking at these nests, the observer is irresistibly reminded of the old Babylonish bricks, in which the grass and straw still remain, and serve to strengthen the ill-burned clay, which in many cases was only dried in the sun.
Possibly, if the bird were deprived of such materials, and only furnished with mud and clay, it would be as much at a loss as were the captive Israelites when they were compelled to make bricks without being supplied with straw.
Like the Oven Bird, the Pied Grallina makes no attempt to conceal its nest, but places it quite conspicuously on a branch, as is shown in the illustration. It is almost invariably built on a bough which overhangs the water, and, in spite of its weight and size, is fixed so firmly to the branch that there is no fear lest it should overbalance itself. The walls of the nest are very thick and solid, and the whole edifice looks very like an exceedingly rude and ill-baked earthenware vessel—just such a one, indeed, as Robinson Crusoe manufactured on his island. The bird is widely spread over Australia, so that its nest may be found in many parts of the country.
I may here mention that two of our best-known song-birds form a basin-like nest of somewhat similar materials. Every one who has taken the nest of a SONG THRUSH (Turdus musicus) will remember that its interior is lined with a cup of a substance that resembles clay, but which is, in fact, composed chiefly of cowdung and decayed wood. This cup is exceedingly thin, but it is very hard and tough, and is so compact in its structure that it will hold water for some time. Like the mud wall of the Pied Grallina, it is strengthened by sticks and grass, with this difference, that whereas the latter bird incorporates the sticks and straws with the mud, the Thrush works the cup upon the sticks and straws.
The BLACKBIRD (Turdus merula), too, has a similar habit, only it employs veritable mud for the purpose, and spreads it in a much thicker layer than the Thrush. The eggs, however, are not placed on the dried mud, but on a layer of very fine grass. The object of this curious lining seems to be still undiscovered. Both the birds build in similar localities, and both make their nests close to the ground. It is possible that the stout walls may prevent the weasel or stoat from tearing the nest away from below, and so catching the young birds, but this is mere conjecture. Even the muddy lining does not repel all such attacks, for I once knew a dog that was in the habit of searching for nests of both these birds, and of eating the eggs and the young. He always obtained his prey by getting under the nest, biting out the bottom, and receiving the contents in his mouth.
THE curious flask-shaped nests which are seen in the illustration are built wholly of clay and mud, and are made by a beautiful little Australian bird named the FAIRY MARTIN (Hirundo Ariel), closely allied, as its generic name signifies, to the swallows and martins of our own country. The bird is spread over the whole of Southern Australia, where it arrives in August, and whence it departs in September.
These remarkable nests are generally to be found upon rocks, and are always close to rivers, but have never been seen within many miles of the sea. Now and then, however, the bird chooses another locality, and, instead of fixing its nests to the side of a rock, attaches them to the interior of one of the huge hollow trees which are so common in Australia. Now and then it behaves like the martin of England, and builds its nest under the protection of human habitations.
The shape of the nests always resembles that of a flask or retort, and their size is extremely variable, the length of the spouts or necks being from seven to ten inches, and the diameter of the bulb varying from four to seven inches. Mr. Gould mentions, in his work on the Birds of Australia, that each nest is the joint work of several birds, six or seven being sometimes employed upon one nest, one sitting in the interior, as chief architect, arranging and smoothing the material, while the others go off in search of mud and clay, which they knead well in their mouths before applying it to the nest.
As is generally the case with clay which is thus kneaded, it becomes very hard when baked in the sun, but, at the same time, is rather slow in drying. When the weather is dry, the bird can only work in the mornings and evenings, because the heat of the sunbeams soon renders the clay too stiff to be worked by the delicate beaks of the birds; and, therefore, in the middle of the day, the Fairy Martins cease their architectural labors, and do nothing but chase flies. During wet weather, however, when no flies are abroad, and the air is full of moisture, the birds work continually at their nests, and soon complete their labors.
The exterior of the nest is quite as rough as that of the common English martin, but in the interior it is beautifully smooth. The birds do not seem to have any particular care about the point of the compass toward which the entrance looks, but arrange it indifferently in any direction.
The Fairy Martin is a prolific little bird, laying four or five eggs, and rearing two broods in a year.
There is an American Swallow which builds a nest very similar in form to that of the Fairy Martin. This is the RUFOUS-NECKED SWALLOW (Hirundo fulva), whose nests are made of mud, and flask-shaped, but have a wider and shorter neck than is the case with the nest of the Fairy Martin. On account of its gregarious propensities, it is sometimes called the REPUBLICAN SWALLOW. Wherever a favorable spot is found, such as a perpendicular rock with an overhanging shelf, the nests are built in profusion, being placed so close to each other that the rock is almost covered with them.
The birds are also gregarious on the wing as well as in nesting, as will be seen by Audubon's remarks upon their habits: "About sunset they begin to flock together, calling to each other for that purpose, and in a short time presented the appearance of clouds moving toward the lakes on the mouth of the Mississippi, as the weather and wind suited. Their aerial evolutions before they alight are truly beautiful. They appear at first as if reconnoitering the place, when, suddenly throwing themselves into a vortex of apparent confusion, they descend spirally with astonishing quickness, and very much resemble a trombe or water-spout. When within a few feet of the ciriers, they disperse in all directions, and settle in a few moments. Their twitterings and the motion of their wings are, however, heard during the whole night.
"As soon as the day begins to dawn, they rise, flying low over the lakes, almost touching the water for some time, and then, rising gradually, move off in search of food, separating in different directions. The hunters who resort to these places destroy great numbers of them by knocking them down with light paddles, used in propelling their canoes." The cirier which is here mentioned is the French popular name for the Myrica cerifera, a shrub belonging to the same genus as the well-known British shrub called Sweet Gale, or Dutch Myrtle.
ANOTHER American bird, the RUFOUS-BELLIED SWALLOW (Hirundo erythrogaster), is notable for the nest which it makes. This species follows the example of the Oven Bird in its selection of materials, strengthening the mud walls of its nest with fine hay. The nest is furthermore remarkable for having a supplementary perch, or small nest attached to the larger one, serving as a seat for the male while his mate is engaged in the business of incubation. On such occasions he is in the habit of pouring forth a lively though not varied song, being, in fact, a sustained twitter. The shell of the nest is about an inch in thickness, and the mixed mud and hay are arranged in regular layers. Owing to the thickness, and the complicated structure of the nest, a full week is required for its completion. The form of the nest is nearly that of an inverted cone, being flattened on the side which is set against the wall or rock. The bird is of gregarious habits, and twenty or thirty nests are often seen so close together that a finger could scarcely be placed between them.
Fortunately for itself, this bird is protected by popular superstition, which attributes all kinds of ill luck to the person who kills one of them. Wilson remarks that, in consequence of long immunity, they feel so secure among human habitations, that, although the woods may be destitute of them, every farm-house is sure to attract them. There is scarcely a barn in which they will not build; and right glad is the farmer when they take possession of a building, for, according to popular belief, such a building will never be injured by lightning. He farther mentions that a farmer said that, if he were to permit his swallows to be shot, all his cows would give bloody milk; to which remark Wilson merely nodded assent, being unwilling to disturb any feeling, however superstitious, which had for its object the protection of useful birds.