34 BRITISH BIRDS, WITH THEIR NESTS AND EGGS. 



The House-Martin builds its nest against a wall, and immediately below and 

 up tp a projecting ledge ; rectangular eaves of houses are preferred, but sometimes 

 projecting bricks on railway- and other arches are used, or ledges of rock ; the 

 nest being completely closed in with the exception of a semi-circular or demi-semi- 

 circular hole at the top, and usually in the centre. 



The nest is formed of mud without, and with hardly any admixture of grass 

 or hair ; it is consequently so much more brittle than that of the Swallow, that, 

 with the greatest care, using a long sharp table-knife, I never succeeded in obtain- 

 ing a perfect specimen ; indeed most nests fall into fragments at the first attempt 

 to detach them, leaving nothing but the lining with the eggs in the hand held 

 below as a support : this lining consists of dry grass, and sometimes, but not 

 invariably, a few feathers. The eggs number from four to six ; in form they are 

 generally elongated ovals, pure white, and immaculate, but appearing rosy when 

 fresh-laid ; they are smooth and thin shelled, moderately glossy, but not exactly 

 shiny. 



When attempting in vain to secure a perfect nest of this species, it has often 

 surprised me that the mere weight of the nestlings does not burst the fragile mud 

 shell ; the glutinous saliva of the bird is supposed to assist in uniting the mud pellets 

 in the first instance, but one would expect a driving rain to be more than sufficient 

 to counteract that slight advantage : why this species so rarely uses hay and hair to 

 strengthen its walls is another puzzle, for the additional stability which it gives 

 to a Swallow's nest is so considerable ; that, taking a metal dipper filled with hay 

 to the top of a chimney, I have only had to lower the edge of the metal pan 

 below the nest and jerk it upwards, to secure the nest uninjured. 



The food of the Martin consists wholly of insects, which it obtains on the 

 wing ; in confinement, however, it readily feeds upon the usual soft food. In the 

 first week of July, 1891, my colleague, Mr. W. R. Ogilvie Grant obtained a nest 

 of four House-Martins about a week old, and gave them to me. Following out 

 the mistaken notions of many aviculturists I at first fed these young birds partly 

 upon raw rump-steak finely minced ; but I also gave them a mixture of carefully 

 selected ants' cocoons, and preserved yolk of egg, ground up in a mortar with 

 maizena wafers, the whole carefully mixed together, and slightly damped. Upon 

 this diet all four attained their full size, after which they refused the raw meat, 

 but continued to eat the mixture greedily. 



I kept these birds in a basket filled with hay, and several times each day they 

 were taken out and encouraged to fly about the room ; but now they began to 

 object to return to the close confinement of their basket ; therefore I purchased a 

 large cage, hung up a cocoa-nut nest lined with flannel in one corner, and taught 



