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THE SAND-MARTIN. 



Cotile riparia (L.). 



This species entered the country along the whole o£ the south 

 coast, but mainly between Cornwall and Hampshire. Its 

 arrival was first reported in Somerset on the 21st o£ March. 

 Stragglers occurred in Devonshire, Carmarthen, Glamorgan, 

 Pembroke, Shropshire and Lancashire during the following 

 ten days, but no very marked increase in numbers took 

 place until about the middle o£ April, though on the 14th 

 a small party was recorded from the Clyde area. On the 

 13th and 14th Sand-Martins were reported to be passing 

 along the north coast of Devonshire in a continuous stream. 

 A great increase was noted in Cheshire on the latter date, 

 followed by largely increased numbers in Westmoreland on 

 the 19th. The species was by this time widely distributed 

 . all over the kingdom, but fresh arrivals continued to pass 

 through the country up to the end of the month. 



A great influx into Glamorgan on the 11th and 12th of 

 May indicated a further large arrival in the west. These 

 birds apparently passed rapidly northwards, as there was 

 an increase on the 14th in Northumberland, and large 

 numbers of newly arrived birds were noticed in that county 

 two days later. The subsequent immigratory movements 

 were on a much smaller scale, but birds on passage continued 

 to arrive up to the end of the month. There were no records 

 relating to this species from any of the lights. 



Sand-Martins were nesting in Warwickshire on the 1st of 

 May, and in Yorkshire on the 10th, while a nest with eggs 

 was found in Radnor on the 28th. 



