BIRDS 79 



bottom of the nest : the martins speedily put a new floor in when once the 

 sparrow had been ejected. 



The song is a very charming and musical twitter, which may be heard in 

 the nest as well as when the birds are flying. It has been written down as 

 " Chur-r-ruee chur-r-ruee ruee ruee." The young ones have a pretty 

 call-note "Chirrup." The eggs are a pure white, laid at the end of May, 

 and often again for a second brood. 



Martin, Sand. This is the smallest of the Swallow family, less than 5 inches 

 in length, and is distinguished from the others by its mouse-brown back and 

 upper parts, the under parts being white, with pale brown on the flanks. The 

 tail is shorter and less forked than the Swallow's. The Sand Martin makes its 

 nest in a rounded hole at the end of a burrow, 2 or 3 feet long, excavated by 

 the birds hi the side of a sand-pit or bank, generally in the neighbourhood of 

 water if possible ; occasionally in holes in walls and trees. The bird begins 

 by scrambling along the face of the sand-pit till it finds a spot to its purpose, 

 when it commences digging with its beak. It is said that one pair of birds 

 bored a tunnel 20 inches long in forty-eight hours; another pair bored 

 one 4 feet long in sixteen days. More observation on this point, together 

 with the state of the weather, and the hardness or softness of the soil, would 

 be of value and here is an opportunity for the young student to do some 

 original observation work. In the rounded chamber at the end of the tunnel 

 the bird builds the nest proper of feathers, and lays four or five white eggs, 

 breeding twice in the season. 



The note is a slight chattering, often uttered as the birds chase one an- 

 other in their flights. There is also a low chirp, which develops into a scream 

 when alarmed or disturbed. The Sand Martin builds in colonies. The tunnels 

 are often infested with fleas nota bene ! 



Nightingale. The king of the Thrush family, famous for its song, which 

 has been shown to possess at least twenty different phrases and fifty notes. 

 It is a summer visitor, appearing in April and leaving us in August and Sep- 

 tember ; found in the South of England, omitting Cornwall and most of Devon ; 

 in the Midlands, as far north as Yorkshire ; and the eastern borders of Wales, 

 chiefly Glamorganshire. It is unknown in Ireland and Scotland. It returns to 

 the same nesting site each year, as I know to my joy, having a visitor every 

 year in a little copse with tangled brushwood close to the church. Its song is 

 its distinguishing feature, but it must be remembered that it is not the only 

 bird that sings at night (for example, the Sedge Warbler does). It is recognized 

 by its uniform russet-brown upper parts; its handsome chestnut tail; the 

 under parts white, shading into grey and brown on flanks and breast. 

 The nest is almost always on or near the ground, among herbage in under- 

 growth, and is made of dead leaves and grass (so deep as to appear domed), 

 lined with finer material. Oak leaves are a favourite choice. The bird is 

 very tame on first arrival, and will sing on a low branch overhanging the road 

 without fear of passers-by ; but when once mated it appears to become much 



