58 THE BIRDS OF DEVOX. 



strolling on our lawn one beautiful April morning, the sudden descent of a 

 little band of Swallows which seemed to bi;rst from the clouds directly 

 overhead, and after circling a few times with joyful twitterings, accepted 

 by us as a glad greeting and, perhaps, thanksgiving for the shelter thay 

 had previously found upon our premises, flying off to the chimneys to 

 inspect the condition of their old abodes. Sometimes Swallows are observed 

 cither arriving on our shores or departing from them in great flocks. In 

 the ' Zoologist ' for lbG4 is an account of an extraordinary flight which was 

 seen at Instow, on the Xorth Devon coast, one evening at tlie beginning of 

 May. Between the hours of seven and eight a large flight of birds was seen 

 approaching which proved to be Swallows. It was calculated that the birds 

 covered a space of nearly a mile in length, by one third of a mile in breadth, 

 and that they were many thousands in number. Their course was from X. 

 to S. They were from two to three gun-shots high, and appeared to be in a 

 fatigued condition. The direction these birds were taking indicated that 

 they had been driven from their line of flight by an adverse wind, which 

 having abated they were returning towards land, after having been carried, 

 it may be, a great distance out to sea. The different intonations of the 

 Swallow's cry will tell any one acquainted with their language what is 

 happening to the bird at the time. There is the shrill, unmistakable note 

 of anger as the bird pounces at a dog or cat : one of our tame Hawks 

 used especially to aftbrd a mark for the Swallows to insult as they would 

 stoop over him at less than an inch from his head. Then there is the 

 twitter expressive of satisfaction and pleasure, as the bird is catching the 

 flies in the meadow some genial day, when one can hear the snap of 

 the bill as it closes upon its prey. 



When it leaves us the Swallow works southwards by degrees, and is 

 not content until it has reached a great distance from its summer home. 

 The Xorth-African oases will not satisfy it ; only a few, young birds of 

 weaker wing, will tarry there ; the rest push on still southwards, some 

 speeding across the vast African continent until they reach their winter- 

 quarters in Natal and the Cape of Good Hope. Others going further to the 

 East find their winter home in X.W. India, China, and Japan. Few 

 birds have so great a range between their settlements at the various 

 seasons of the year. 



Martin. CheUdon nrlica (Linn.). 



[House- Martin : Martlet of heraldry.] 



A summer migrant, generally distributed and abundant. Breeds. 



The !Martin usually arrives towards the end of April, though stragglers 

 are seen much earlier, and in 1874 we saw two on the 2nd, and many on 

 the 5th of that month. In 1891 none were observed by us until 14th 

 May. Martins generally disappear before the last week of October. Young 

 birds are, however, often seen late in November, and have been observed 

 even in December (Exeter, December 20th, 1863) and January (Brixham, 

 January 1st, 1SG6). Immense numbers congregate about houses near 

 the sea on the South Coast in September and October. Martins breed 



