68 BRITISH BIRDS, THEIR EGGS AND NESTS. 



disused shafts of mines, and the like, and even parts of unused 

 rooms, or articles of furniture in such rooms, are resorted to. 

 These nests are very considerably different from those of the 

 Martin (to be noticed next), inasmuch as they are always com- 

 pletely open above, being so built that there is a sensible space 

 between the greater portion of the edge of the plaster-work of 

 the nest, and the roof or other surface above ; while in the case of 

 the Martin's nest, it is always built so as to be closed above by 

 the eaves or other ledge to which it is affixed, requiring a gap or 

 lip so to speak to be left in the wall to afford ingress and 

 egress to the owners. The nest, in either case, is built with many 

 pellets of soft tenacious earth, wrought into form with bits of 

 straw or grass, and afterwards lined with feathers. It is observable 

 that no more work at the nest is done in a day than will readily 

 harden enough to bear the requisite additions of materials above, 

 when the time comes for making them. There are usually four, 

 five, or six eggs laid; white, speckled and spotted with deep 

 red, and a lighter duller shade, Fig. 20, plate IV. 



140. MARTIN. (Hirundo urbicd). 



Martlet, Martin Swallow, House Martin, Window Martin, 

 Eaves Swallow, Window Swallow. This familiar little bird, 

 whose cheeping note in the nests above our chamber windows is 

 one of the sounds we should sorely miss, frequents the dwellings 

 of men quite as much as, I think more than, the Swallow. Every 

 one knows where to look for the Martin's nest, and many a house 

 can we all call to mind which seems, from some peculiarity in its 

 site or external fashion, to be particularly affected by these birds 

 and certainly, in most cases, the inmates of the house take 

 much care to save their confiding feathered friends from disturb- 

 ance. In many places, however, the Martin forms large nesting 

 colonies, which take possession of a series of overhanging ledges 

 on some steep rocky face, and there build their nests in great 

 numbers. In Berwickshire, on the banks of the Whiteadder, I 

 knew of such a colony, and others elsewhere : the principal ones, 

 however, being on the rock-bound coast between St. Abb's Head 

 and Burnmouth. Hundreds of these birds nested in several 

 different places upon those lofty precipices. No description of 

 the nest itself beyond what was said in the notice of the Swal- 

 low seems requisite. The number of eggs, which are perfectly 

 white, seems seldom to exceed six. 



141. SAND MARTIN (Hirnndo nparia). 

 Bank Martin, Pit Martin, Sand Swallow, Bank Swallow, River 

 Swallow. This delicate little visitor comes to us in the spring, 

 often very early, from Africa, as do also the two others of the 



