156 THE BIRDS OF KENT 



Martin at Beckenham on April 15, 1854, but it was not 

 observed until May 10, 1906, while hawking over a large 

 pond at Bilsington in Kent, in company with some 

 Swallows. 



This species, according to Mr. W. H. Power, is " an 

 uncommon species in the Rainham district, and he only 

 saw a few in the autumn of 1865." Near Maidstone and 

 Aylesford there are a great many sand-pits which are 

 taken up annually by the Sand-Martins. Mr. R. T. 

 Filmer says it is commonly seen hawking along the 

 railway in the Orlestone district. The bird becomes 

 local during the breeding season on account of the 

 absence of sand-pits and suitable high banks of soft 

 earth. 



Attempt to Keep the Sand-Martin in Confinement. — 

 " While in Kent last July, a man brought me five young 

 Sand-Martins which he had just taken from their nest. 

 The burrow from which they had been taken having 

 been destroyed, and the birds themselves being too young 

 to fly, I determined to do my best to keep them alive. 

 The idea of giving them their natural food being out of 

 the question,' I mixed up for them a paste consisting of 

 four parts of fig-dust and pounded dog-biscuit, two parts 

 pea-meal and yolk of eggs, and one part ant's eggs ; but 

 it was quite a week before they would take this food from 

 a feeding-stick, and the task of opening their mouths for 

 every morsel was one which I should not care to repeat. 

 After about ten days all five fed themselves greedily 

 from a small glass pot of food, and I then turned them 

 into a large flight-cage, hoping that they would take 

 sufficient exercise to keep them in health. In this, 

 however, I was disappointed, for, although at first they 

 took short flights and roosted high up on the perches, or 



