4^ C.C. NATURAL HISXaRV SOCIETY. 



SWALLOWS AND MARTINS. 



By L. Mott, Esq. 



The following observation were made from a house in Chepstow, which 



is a totvn situated on the North side of the Bristol Channel, 



close to the junction of the Wye with the Severn. 



^y\\^\ Y hed room window, from which I took most of my 



11/ observations looks due East, over the rivers Wye and 



I ^JLC/* Severn, and gets the full blaze of the morning sun in 



consequence. I am just out of the town, the house 



being one of a row of small houses, and being also abotie the town, 



gets a clear uninterrupted view, over some fields to the rivers in 



front, over the town to the North, and to the East to a wooded 



estate. Beyond the rivers, in front, the view extends, on a clear day, 



to the Cotteswold hills. My sitting room window has the same 



outlook and view. 



On the morning of September 15th I was lying awake about a 

 quarter-to-seven, admiring the sun rise, when I noticed a great 

 twittering of swallows outside the window. I got up and went to 

 the window, and saw a small congregation of swallows and martins 

 sitting on the roof and flying about in front of the window. That 

 first morning I did not observe them very closely, and thought they 

 were all swallows. The next morning, however, there was a much 

 larger flock, and I noticed that the great majority of them were 

 martins, while the swallows were very much in a minority. 



These gatherings continued every morning till the 25th. That 

 morning there were very few birds, and those that came simply flew 

 about high up in the air, and did not alight, as far as I could see. 



The next day, September 26th, there was a very large gathering 

 indeed, and there seemed to be a greater proportion of swallows. 

 On this day too, according to my notes, there were a great many 

 birds flying over the fields in front, and especially round and over 

 two great beech trees in the fields, in the evening, about five o'clock. 



