| [Bert Kitchen] And So They Build 005 - Barn Swallow From: giraffe@longneck.inc (giraffe~⇔)
 Newsgroups: alt.binaries.pictures.artpics
 Subject: Re: Critters  - KitchenBert_AndSoTheyBuild05-iej.jpg
 Date: Wed, 08 Nov 2000 03:04:17 GMT
 
 >*
 >*From a educational book for children
 >*And So They Build
 >*Written & illustrated by Bert Kitchen
 >*
 >*ISBN 1-56402-502-0
 
 
 KitchenBert_AndSoTheyBuild05-iej
 
 Swallows are ready to breed
 and so they build...
 
 Swallows fly almost everywhere in the world apart
 from the Arctic and Antarctic, though they winter
 exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere.  They
 normally build their nests on a sheltered ledge
 or beam - perhaps inside a barn.  They begin by
 plastering mud from a nearby pond or stream onto
 the wall above the ledge, then build up their nest
 in semicircular layers of mudballs, adding grass
 and straw for extra strength.
 
 It may take as many as a thousand mouthfuls of
 mud, carried back one by one, to build a nest.
 
 Swallows often return to the same place each year,
 repairing their nests with fresh mud and straw.
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