392 HIRUNDINIDiE. 



When we arrived at the bridge at twenty minutes past 8 o'clock 

 in the evening, great numbers of house-martins were most noisy 

 before retiring for the night, which they had done at half -past 

 eight. Next morning, their call-notes were equally loud; not 

 less than three hundred birds being on wing together. It is an 

 excellent feeding station. My companion (A. H. Haliday, Esq.,) 

 found quite a harvest of insects {JBliryganem, 8fc.) on the railing 

 of the bridge. Tins is a fine structure of nine arches, having 

 its walls surmounted by a stone coping with an iron railing: The 

 martins' nests are all in an unusual site, (though it would not be so 

 for the Hirundo rustica,) beneath the arches of the bridge. This 

 is not owing to any want of their usual building places, the eaves 

 of houses ; those in the village of Toome, distant only a few 

 hundred paces from the bridge being perfectly suitable for the 

 purpose, and similar to what are chosen in other parts of the 

 country : — but not a nest is to be seen there. Hundreds of birds, 

 too, covered the slated roof of the inn during the forenoons. 

 We went under the arches of the bridge on our way to and from 

 Church Island, and saw innumerable nests, looking most inter- 

 esting, from the variety of form assumed in consequence of the 

 nature of the locality ; many were of a rude Florence-flask-like 

 shape. The pellets of clay on the outside were remarkably large, 

 appearing at first sight like gravel of pretty uniform size. The 

 apertures to the nests on the southern side of the arches looked 

 south, as those on the opposite side, did north, doubtless on 

 account of the greater facility thus afforded during the progress of 

 building, and afterwards for the egress and ingress of the birds. 

 At ten minutes past 8 o'clock this evening, an amazing increase 

 to the number of these martins appeared above the bridge : there 

 could not have been less than five hundred together. At twenty 

 minutes past eight, the whole body made a sweep to the arches of 

 the bridge and a number retired to their nests, but several down- 

 ward sweeps from on high, like those of starlings to their roosting 

 place, were necessary, before they all got settled for the night. 

 Their numbers reminded me of a swarm of bees hurrying to their 

 hive. Until about roosting time they would seem to range to 



