EARLY JUNE—OUR LAST EXCURSION I51 
excavating their nests, they forsake the hole 
and begin another; hence the number of 
PLATE XLV: Sand-martins and their nest-holes 
(+ size). 
holes that are seen in the banks in which they 
build, some alone being used for nests. The 
work is done with their beaks, and completed 
in about a fortnight. They build in com- 
munities, and are very partial to the same 
spot year after year, and use the same 
nest-holes. The holes are mostly out of 
