PRELIMINARY CLASSIFIED NOTES 



of the martin than in that of the swallow, that the west of Great Britain 

 is reached before the east In fact, in some seasons at any rate, immigration 



r\< lusivrly ,.n tin- \\->tTii li.ilf <>i tin- 



and later at the extreme eastern end, the intervening portion not receiving any 

 immigrant* directly (B. O. C. Migration Reports, i.-v., but especially i. pp. 02-96). 

 A caae has been recorded in which there was " a difference of at least three 

 weeks in the arrival of [this] species at two breeding-haunts within a quarter of 

 a mile of each other " in the south of England (cf. Bonhote, British Bird*, iii. 

 p. 81). The emigratory movements appear to correspond closely with those of the 

 swallow, but they have not been worked out in such detail. In the inland districts 

 of England emigratory movement frequently takes a south-easterly trend (B. O. C. 

 Migration Reports, iv. p. 193), and in connection with this it is interesting to note 

 that a young house-martin, "ringed" in its nest near Lancaster on 31st August 

 1909, was picked up injured below some telegraph wires at Ewell, Surrey, on 

 26th September 1909 (cf. Witherby, British Birds, iii. p. 219). In the case of the 

 swallow and of both martins, there has been noted a tendency to edge both eastwards 

 and westwards along the Kentish coast towards Dungeness, which is evidently a 

 favourite point of departure for some reason (cf. Ticehurst, B. of Kent, 1909, p. 137). 

 The occurrence of solitary examples in late November and early December is more 

 frequent in the case of the house-martin than in the case of the swallow (ct. authors 

 cited under this point in connection with the swallow, anted). Such birds may 

 possibly be connected with the passage movements to which we now come. There is, 

 however, very little information about these movements, but what there is points to 

 a slight passage between the winter quarters and both Northern and Central Europe 

 by way of the eastern districts of Great Britain, just as in the case of the swallow. 

 The martin occurs in numbers on Fair Isle (Shetlands) on both passages, and is 

 especially abundant in spring, being then commoner than the swallow there. It 

 has been recorded from the Flannans (Hebrides) as late as 4th November (cf. 

 Clarke, Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist., 1908. p. 83; and Paterson, torn, tit., p. 138). 

 Secondly, house-martins were recorded as participating in the westerly movement 

 of swallows and others first noticed at the Kentish Knock Lightship in the autumn 

 of 1903 (cf. Clarke. Ibis, 1904, pp. 123 and 138). The existence of a corresponding 

 spring movement may perhaps be inferred. | A. i.. T. ] 



4. Nest and Eggs. The normal nesting site of this species is on the outer 

 wall of a building, close under the eaves, and those on the same house may face 

 all four quarters. Numerous colonies breed on sea-cliffs in various part* of 



VOL. ii. 2o 



