THE HOUSE-MARTIN. 395 



The statement of several continental authors, that house- martins, 

 on finding sparrows in possession of their nests, had been known 

 to rise en masse, and fill up the entrance when the intruders were 

 within, would seem, from the silence of some of the latest British 

 writers of authority on the subject, not to be credited by them. 

 The compiler of the Architecture of Birds sets it down as a "fan- 

 ciful legend;" but I have unquestionable testimony, that a case 

 precisely similar to those related by the authors alluded to, occurred 

 in 1832, in the next farm to our own, near Belfast. 



When the house-martins returned in that year to a thatched 

 cottage, belonging to Mr. John Clements, where they had annu- 

 ally built for a long period — and winch then displayed fourteen of 

 their nests — a pair found that sparrows had taken possession of 

 their domicile. On perceiving tins, they kept up such "a chatter- 

 ing about the nest" as to attract the attention of the owner of the 

 house. After its continuance for some time, apparently until they 

 were convinced that the sparrow was determined to retain posses- 

 sion, they flew away, and did not return for a considerable time, 

 when they re-appeared with about twenty of their kindred. They 

 now immediately commenced "claying up the entrance to the 

 nest," which was done in the course of the day ; next morning, 

 the construction of a new nest was commenced against the side 

 of the old one, and in it they reared their brood undisturbed. 

 After some time, the proprietor of the cottage, who had never 

 heard of any similar case, pulled down both nests, and in that oc- 

 cupied by the sparrow found its " rotten corpse," together with 

 several eggs. A particular note of the entire proceeding, as re- 

 lated by Mr. Clements, was made by my brother soon after the 

 occurrence ; but to make " assurance doubly sure " before pub- 

 lishing the account in 184£, I inquired of Mr. Clements whether 

 he remembered such a circumstance, and he repeated it just as nar- 

 rated nine years before. Some other persons too of our mutual 

 acquaintance, were witness to the chief parts of the proceeding, and 

 saw the sparrow, together with the eggs, in the sealed-up nest.* 



* Three recent occurrences of a similar nature are recorded by Mr. Weir (Mac- 

 gillivray, British Birds, vol. iii. p. 591), and two others are alluded to under the 

 head of " Swallow " by the Bishop of Norwich, in his Familiar History of Birds, 

 vol. ii.p. 55, 3rd edition. 



