Birds by Land and Sea 



or two an old bird dashes up with an excited " Pri ! 

 pri I " and as she approaches the young recognize her, 

 and respond with a chorus of " Ick-pns ! " Hanging 

 on to the edge of the nest, she delivers her catch of 

 flies, but with such haste that it is to be feared that 

 the selfish little beggar who manages to keep posses- 

 sion of the doorway, so as almost to block it with 

 his obtrusive person, gets the lion's share of the 

 provision. The young of the house-martin, like 

 the young of the swallow, are evidently taught that 

 no good bird must foul his nest, even though it be 

 a mud one, and from time to time a small tail 

 appears over the rim of the orifice as the chick 

 reverses his position in order to comply with this 

 first rule of domestic propriety. Any slips are 

 remedied by the parent bird, who carries in her bill 

 the little membranous sac, and drops it and its 

 contents at some distance from the nest. 



During September second broods occupy the 

 nests, and even during October young ones may 

 be seen waiting impatiently for the supplies which 

 now come more rarely, being harder to find in these 

 late days, when each night nips the land with the 

 tightening pinch of approaching winter. In early 

 October these late broods may be seen exercising 

 with the old birds in the air preparatory to their 

 departure ; and then some day it was the I9th 

 October in 1902 they no longer appear. Never- 

 theless, even at that moment there were young birds 

 in the nests. 



10 



