BRITISH BIRDS' NESTS. 159 



Swallow, Martlet. Gregarious, as a rule. Sits 

 closely. 



MARTIN, HOUSE. See Martin. 



MARTIN, SAND. 



Description of Parent Birds. — Length about four 

 and three-quarter to five inches. Bill short, slightly 

 turned down at the tip, and brownish-black. Irides 

 hazel. Head, back of neck, and all upper-parts, 

 including wings and tail, brownish-black or mouse- 

 colour. Throat and breast white, the latter having 

 a band of lightish-brown running across it. Belly 

 and under-parts white. Legs and toes reddish- 

 brown. The brown tinge of the upper-parts and the 

 smaller size readily distinguish this bird from the 

 House Martin. 



The female differs very slightly from the male. 



Situation and Locality. — At the extremity of 

 a tunnel, dug by the bird's own exertions. It varies 

 in length fro in eighteen inches to three or four 

 feet, and generally slopes upwards from the entrance 

 to the little round chamber in which the nest is 

 situated. The gallery is about two inches in 

 diameter, generally crooked. In the banks of rivers, 

 sand-pits, railway cuttings, and lanes with high 

 sandy banks. Our illustration is from a photo- 

 graph taken near Nuffield, Surrey, and is of double 

 interest — firstly, it is quite away from any water, 

 and secondly, every nest was taken possession of 

 in 1894 by Sparrows. These little birds breed all 

 over the country, penetrating to the distant Orkney 

 and Shetland Islands. 



Materials. — Straw and grass stems, with an 



