SAND-MARTIN, 359 



thinned, but myriads continue to haunt the larger rivers. 

 About the beginning or middle of September these take 

 their departure, and by the third week of that month it is 

 rare to see a single bird. Nor do stray examples ordinarily 

 appear afterwards, as is so commonly the case with the 

 Swallow and the House-Martin. Mr. W. Jeffery, however, 

 in 1867 (Zool. s.s. p. 1033) noticed the Sand-Martin in 

 Sussex until October 6th ; Thompson mentions its having 

 been observed at Wexford, October 31st ; and, according 

 to Kinahan (Zool. p. 6962), it occurred in the county 

 Limerick, November 30th, 1859 — the latest date known 

 to the Editor. In spring, too, exceptional arrivals are 

 very rare, the earliest on record being apparently that by 

 Mr. D'Urban (Zool. p. 5098) at Exeter, March 18th, 1856, 

 which is certainly not more than ten days sooner than its 

 ordinary coming. 



The Sand-Martin is generally but rather locally distributed 

 throughout the British Islands, including most of the 

 Outer Hebrides and Orkney, but it is not known to breed in 

 Shetland though often appearing there. On the continent 

 of Europe it goes nearly as far as the North Cape, and 

 thence is found across the Russian dominions to the Sea of 

 Ochotsk, being very numerous in many places. It is sup- 

 posed to have been obtained in Japan (Ibis, 1878, p. 231) 

 and is numerous in China, but its southern range in Asia 

 is not at all known. Mr. Davidson (Stray Feathers, vi. p. 

 44) found it common in winter in the Thatone subdistrict of 

 Tennasserim, and at the same season it visits several parts of 

 India, but not, as would seem, the southern half of the penin- 

 sula, and from Mr. Hume's experience it must be rare. 

 Thence it is found in Afghanistan, Persia and Arabia. In 

 Africa it had not been till lately known to reach further to 

 the southward than Zanzibar on the east coast, though 

 Canon Tristram, who saw a few at El Aghouat in Novem- 

 ber, thought that it did not winter in the Sahara, and Drake 

 believed the same of it as concerns Eastern Morocco ; but 

 the receipt by Mr. Gurney of several specimens from Trans- 

 vaal greatly extends its range. Mr. Godman obtained a 



VOL. II. 3 A 



