HOUSE MARTIN. 159 



parts of Yorkshire its presence does not become apparent 

 until the third or last week of the month. In 1877 it was 

 noted in Wensleydale on the 6th of March, which is remarkably 

 early ; in Cleveland the earliest arrival of which I have a 

 note is the 4th of April 1901, when one was seen at Marton. 



During August and September most of the House 

 Martins leave us, but a few linger until October almost 

 every year, while some stay into November. Two records 

 are known of its being seen in December : one at Whitby in 

 1888, on the 4th of the month, and another which came under 

 my notice at Redcar in 1900, on the I4th ; the bird was 

 afterwards repeatedly seen flying in front of my house until 

 the 2oth, when from n a.m. until 2 p.m. I had it under 

 observation for the last time. An instance of this species 

 wintering in the county is given by Latham's correspondent, 

 as mentioned above in the first Yorkshire reference to this 

 bird.* 



Though generally distributed, and common in most 

 localities, the House Martin is, unfortunately, decreasing 

 in numbers in the manufacturing districts and in the 

 neighbourhood of many large towns, where whole colonies 

 have deserted their breeding places owing to the prevalence 

 of smoke and the destruction and usurpation of their nests 

 by the ubiquitious House Sparrow. This decrease appears 

 to be noticed also in many other parts, although in some 

 places, and particularly at Harrogate, the reverse is happily 

 the case. In the west and north-west portions of the county 

 the bird is found up to 1150 feet elevation, at which altitude 

 it breeds in Teesdale and Nidderdale, and I have often met 

 with it hawking for insects on the Cleveland moors in August, 

 whilst grouse- driving operations were in progress. Great 

 mortality amongst the Swallow tribe was caused by the 

 severe weather in May 1886, and this species suffered equally 

 with its congeners (cf. Swallow, p. 155, and Nat. 1886, p. 182). 



Along the sea-cliffs a great number of Martins breed 



* (cf. J. E. Harting on " Belated Swallows." Field, 3Oth January 

 $892 ; and Nat. 1901, p. 74.) 



