OBSERVED IN HERTFORDSHIRE IN 1905. 55 



on long- continued dull weather, I noticed two of these birds 

 flying to and fro on the southern side of the house. None had 

 been seen for many weeks, and it was supposed that all had long 

 since left, us for a warmer climate. Although the bright sun had 

 called into activity a fair uiunber of small insects, it seemed 

 strange that these two birds shovild get their living with so much 

 apparent ease while coursing over a comparatively limited space. 

 From the time of their first appearance they were seen each day, 

 sweeping past the windows in pursuit of food, remaining on the 

 wing so late as a quarter or twenty minutes past four, when 

 the air was keen and day growing dull. On the night of 

 November 11th the garden thermometer registered four degrees 

 of frost, and on the next morning the birds began their flight while 

 the rime lay white upon the lawn. I could not tell their resting- 

 place ; the twilight always closed upon them as they sat on the 

 stone coping at the top of the house. They were seen for the 

 last time on November 13th, the garden thennometer having 

 registered six degrees of frost on the previous night." In the 

 issue of the same paper for the week following appeared letters 

 stating that swallows had been seen in Hertford (Mr. W. S. 

 Harrison) on 11th November, 1905, and at Broxbourne (Mr. A. E. 

 Price) so late as 15th November, 1905. 



House-Martin (Chelidon iirhica). — Mr. R. T. Andrews, of 

 Hertford, sends me the following note: — "In November 

 I received from a gentleman at Cole G-reen a martin's nest in 

 a small tin colander. In the August thunderstorm he stated 

 that it was noticed that the nest was in danger of falling, and as 

 it had yovmg in it, he, in the absence of the parent birds, took it 

 down, placed it in the colander (about 6 in. in diameter) , and 

 covered it partly with a tin plate or cover, and fixed it up in just 

 the same place where the nest was. The old birds took to it, 

 reared their progeny, fixed the nest more securely in the tin, and 

 brought oif another brood besides." Mr. D. Hill (Watford) also 

 sends a note supplementary to the one he forwarded last year : 

 " With regard to house-martins, I have several nests on the 

 south and west side of my house, but the nest I wrote to you 

 about last year on the north-east side has not been occupied this 

 year, though when the birds first came over a pair visited it, and 

 I believe almost commenced to patch it up, but eventually moved 

 to the warmer side of the house." Comparing the dates given in 

 various localities as to the final departure of the swallows and 

 martins, it seems that these l>irds are genei'ally seen later on the 

 eastern side of the county than on the western. From Watford, 

 I have no date later than November 1st (Mr. D. Hill) ; at 

 St. Alljans the latest date is October 20th (Mr. H. Lewis and 

 Mr. A. W. Dickinson) ; while at Hertford the latest date (see 

 a7ite) is November 11th, and at Broxbourne November 15th. 



Sand-Martin {Cot He 7-iparia). — I happened to pay a visit to 

 the Tring Eeservoirs on October 28th, and at the Wilstone 

 Eeservoir I noticed some of the swallow tribe circling about, and 



