164 



THE COMMON MARTIN. 



are situated on the belly. These are not very 

 perceptible, except when she is with young, or 

 when she has just brought her young ones into 

 the world. She is said to have little milk, in pro- 

 portion to her size. But this natural defect is 

 amply compensated to the offspring, by her bring- 

 ing home to them eggs and live birds; and thus 

 early habituating them to a lite of carnage and 

 plunder. As soon as the litter are able to leave 

 the nest, they are led by the dam through the 

 woods, where the birds immediately recognise their 

 natural enemies. Whenever they run abroad in 

 the day time, some of the small birds never fail 

 to attend them, as they do the Fox and other 

 predatory animals, and exhibit strong symptoms 

 both of animosity and terror. 



This animal is not very uncommon in many of 

 the southern parts of Great Britain and Ireland. 

 Its usual habitation is a lodge, formed in the hol- 

 low of some decayed tree in a wood; but in moun- 

 tainous countries it resides only amongst rocks. 

 Hence, in most parts of Wales, it has the name of 

 lela graig y or rock Martin. 



The Martin is subject to great quantities of 

 worms, of the species jilaria martis of Linnaeus. 

 These are usually of a white colour, very long and 

 extremely slender. They are found in nearly all 

 parts of the body, lodged betwixt the muscles and 

 the exterior teguments. In a single animal, Redi 

 discovered near two hundred and fifty, and all of 



them 



