332 



TKOl'ICAL WILD LIFE IN BRITISH GUIANA 



FIG. 115 



Photu h\j P. G. H. 

 GREY-BREASTED MARTIN, THREE DAYS OLD 



terrible eontortions, gasping and choking for several nn'nutes 

 after it had gone down. 



The young birds were lined up at the edge of the beam, 

 tw^enty-two days after hatching, ready to begin their trials 

 of flight. They returned to their nests for a few nights and 

 then, having partly learned to care for themselves, departed 

 elsewhere to roost. Kvery morning, together with others 

 that had been reared in less auspicious places, they gathered 

 on the roof of the house with their parents. Invariably at 

 6:15, at a seemingly preconceived signal, they launched forth 

 into the air with one great rush and chatter, swooping and 

 sailing about the house for a few minutes before departing 

 over the bush to seek their morning meal. 



The art of catching their meal did not come quite so 

 easily as the first flights. They had to be fed for a week 



