NATURAL HISTORY OF SELBORNE. 183 



cottages that are scattered about in that wild district. The only 

 instance I ever remember where this species haunts any building- 

 is at the town of Bishop's Waltham, in this county, where many 

 sand-martins nestle and breed in the scaffold-holes of the back- 

 wall of William of Wykeham's stables ; but then this wall stands in 

 a very sequestered and retired enclosure, and faces upon a large 

 and beautiful lake. And indeed this species seems so to delight 

 in large waters, that no instance occurs of their abounding, but 

 near vast pools or rivers ; 2 and in particular it has been remarked 

 that they swarm in the banks of the Thames in some places 

 below London-bridge. 



It is curious to observe with what different degress of archi- 

 tectonic skill Providence has endowed birds of the same genus, 

 and so nearly correspondent in their general mode of life ! for 

 while the swallow and the house-martin discover the greatest 

 address in raising and securely fixing crusts or shells of loam as 

 cunabula for their young, the bank-martin terebrates a round and 

 regular hole in the sand or earth, which is serpentine, horizontal, 

 and about two feet deep. At the inner end of this burrow does 

 this bird deposit, in a good degree of safety, her rude nest, con- 

 sisting of fine grasses and feathers, usually goose-feathers, very 

 inartificially laid together. 



Perseverance will accomplish anything ; though at first one 

 would be disinclined to believe that this weak bird, with her soft 

 and tender bill and claws, should ever be able to bore the stub- 

 born sand- bank without entirely disabling herself; yet with these 

 feeble instruments have I seen a pair of them make great dis- 

 patch, and could remark how much they had scooped that day by 

 the fresh sand which ran down the bank, and was of a different 

 colour from that which lay loose and bleached in the sun. 



In what space of time these little artists are able to mine and 

 finish these cavities I have not been able to discover, for reasons 

 given above; but it would be a matter worthy of observation, 

 where it falls in the way of any naturalist to make his remarks. 

 This I have often taken notice of, that several holes of different 

 depths are left unfinished at the end of summer. To imagine 

 that these beginnings were intentionally made in order to be in 



