^76 BRITAIN'S BIRDS AND THEIR NESTS. 



the House-Martin. It is also the least noisy of the 

 three. 



The Sand-Martin is remarkable for its extremely wide 

 distribution, and in this country it is found in nearly 

 every part, even to the northern islands. Its dependence 

 on suitable nesting-places, however, makes it rather ' local.' 

 Many so-called 'early Swallows' probably belong to this 

 species, as it is on the whole slightly earlier in its arrival 

 than the Swallow and the House-Martin. It is also earlier 

 and more regular in its autumn departure. 



The nest is a very slight affair of grass and feathers, 

 but is placed in a chamber at the end of a gallery bored 

 in a sandy bank. Railway-cuttings, sand-pits, and quarries 

 are frequently used ; but water is a great attraction, and 

 steep river-banks are favourite places. At the coast, 

 crumbling cliffs and even dunes of loose sand are bur- 

 rowed into. Crevices in ruins or rocks are sometimes 

 used. 



The tunnel usually slopes slightly upwards, for di'ainage 

 purposes, and, where many stones have to be avoided, 

 it may twist about considerably. The length varies with 

 the hardness of the soil. In a hard, gravelly bank it may 

 be only eighteen inches long, but three feet is more normal, 

 and nine-foot burrows are on record. 



The four to six eggs are pure white. Two broods are 

 usually reared. 



The Sand-Martin seems to be ill-adapted for tunnelling, 

 but nevertheless appears to take no excessive time over 

 the business. Like the House-Martin, it is liable to be 

 dispossessed by the Sparrow ; but luckily it is very gre- 

 garious, and in large colonies can defy the intruder. 



Gilbert White remarked that, even when undisturbed, 

 the Sand-Martin had to give up a burrow after a few years' 

 tenancy, owing to the foul and flea-infested state it got 



