HO USE-MARTINS. 



Of five houses, a stable, and chapel wall, much fre- 

 quented by martins, the aspects were as follows : — 

 House No. i, nests on the north side, south side, and 

 east, both the south and east very warm ; No. 2, on the 

 south and east walls — these walls met in an angle, and 

 as it were enclosed the sunbeams, making it very heated 

 sometimes ; No. 3, on the south and west walls, the 

 warmest sides of the building ; No. 4, all along under 

 the southern eaves, a very warm wall ; No. 5, also under 

 the southern eaves, and not elsewhere. The stable 

 fronted south ; there were nests front and back, north 

 and south ; the chapel eave that was frequented faced 

 towards the west. In the case of several other houses 

 the nests were on the sunny side ; but I am not so well 

 acquainted with the localities. So far as my observation 

 goes, I think the house-martin — with all the swallow 

 tribe — prefers warmth, and, if possible, chooses the sunny 

 side of a building. A consideration, however, that 

 weighs much with this bird is the character of the take- 

 off; he likes a space immediately in front of his nest, 

 free of trees or other obstructions, so that when rushing 

 out from his little doorway he may not strike against 

 anything For ages it has also been remarked that the 

 house-martin likes the proximity of man, and will build 



