SAND-MARTIN 123 



feathers near the insertion of the hind toe ; tail forked, rather short. 

 Length, five inches. 



The sand-martin, although common enough in some localities, 

 and found throughout the British Islands, including the Outer 

 Hebrides and the Orkneys, is not a very well-known bird; for, 

 however populous the country may be, and though other hirundines 

 become increasingly domestic and breed under eaves, in porches, 

 barns, and chimneys, he always preserves his original wild character. 

 He is a swallow that is a stranger to man, and breeds in holes and 

 crevices in precipitous cliffs on the sea-coast. But he prefers to 

 excavate a breeding-hole in a perpendicular bank of clay not too 

 stiff for his weak mining implements. Earth-cliffs on the banks of 

 rivers and lakes and on the sea, are resorted to for this purpose, and 

 he also takes advantage of the steep sides of railway-cuttings and 

 sand and gravel pits. A suitable bank or cliff will often attract a 

 large number of sand-martins, and the surface will appear riddled 

 with their holes. It has always caused surprise in those who have 

 observed this bird that it should be able With its small, weak bill to 

 form such deep tunnels in the hard earth. The hole once made is, 

 however, often used by the same birds for several years. They do 

 not work by digging into the earth with their bills as a man digs 

 with a knife or other implement. They perch against the surface 

 and pick out small particles, and by means of this slow, laborious 

 process accomplish their great work. The hole slants upwards, and 

 is from three to four feet in length and two or three inches in 

 diameter. At its extremity the gallery is widened to form a 

 chamber about six inches in diameter, where the bed is made of 

 dry grass, with a few feathers for lining. Male and female take 

 turns in boring, working only in the morning, the rest of the day- 

 light hours being spent in feeding and play. It sometimes happens 

 that in boring their hole a sunken boulder or vein of unpenetrable 

 earth is met with ; the hole is then abandoned and a new one begun 

 in another place. By the end of May the eggs are laid. These are 

 four to six in number, and are pure white. 



"When hovering before their holes, and passing to and fro with 

 wavering flight along the face of the bank, the sand-martins have a 

 curious moth-like appearance. "While flying about in company 

 they constantly utter a low monotonous note ; and this sound is 

 prolonged to a scream when the birds are excited by the presence 



