THE SPECIES. lOI 



but otherwise the sexes are alike, both having a characteristic tuft of feathers just above the 

 hind toe. The nest is in a hole in a sandbank, the hole sloping upwards and generally 

 swarming with fleas, the nest a mere bed of grass and feathers. There are four, five, or six 

 eggs, which are white, smooth, and glossy. 



The Martin — Dimensions, Dm ; Eggs, Bp — comes at the end of April and lingers on till 

 December. He flies in shorter curves than the Swallow, and not so swiftly. His note is 

 " screeb," often uttered when on the wing. The sexes are alike in plumage. The nest is 

 built under the eaves of a roof, and on walls and cliffs, and consists of a ball of mud, having 

 a hole just lar^e enough for a doorway, and lined with dry grass and feathers. There are 

 four, five, or six eggs. 



A Purple Martin — Dimensions, Es; Eggs, Fi — was once shot near Dublin. It is an 

 American, and beyond the fact of its luiving once been shot in the British Inlands has no 

 claim to be considered a British bird. 



The Swallow — Dimensions, Gf ; Eggs, Cp — arrives xn the first half of April and leaves us 

 in November. The female differs from the male in having the tail not so forked, and the 

 throat bands narrower. The flight is bold and graceful, wavering at times, but usually in 

 easy curves and long undulations. The Swallow has a gentle warbling song, and a call of 

 " whit, ceep, cheep." The nest is of mud like the Martin's, but it is open at the top, and is 

 larger and more loosely made. It is lined with dry grass and feathers, and contains from 

 four to six eggs. 



Hydrochelidon. Plate xxx. LARIDM. 



342. leucoptera^ g| in. White-Winged Black Tern. Black, with 



broad white edge to wings ; tail white ; bill red ; 

 legs red. 



341. nigra, 10 in. Black Tern. Black, with slaty wings and tail ; 



bill black ; legs brown. 



343. hybrida^ 11^ in. Whiskered Tern. Crown and nape black ; 



cheeks white ; grey above ; wings whitish below ; 

 tail white ; lower breast brownish ; bill red ; legs 

 red. 



The White -winged Black Tern — Dimensions, II ; Eggs, Hs — is occasionally found on the 

 east coast, generally in May or June. It is a widely distributed species, having been 

 recorded in Sweden, North China, Celebes, New Zealand, and the Transvaal. 



The Black Tern — Dimensions, Jb ; Eggs, lo — is better known as a spring and autumn 

 migrant than as a resident. Like all the Terns it is recognisable by its forked tail ; and it 

 carries its wings crossed one over the other as it walks. The sexes are alike in plumage, 

 though the female is generally lighter in colour below than the male. The note is a shrill 

 " hear ! hear I " The nest is a mass of decaying vegetable matter on a mud flat, a floating 

 raft, or a marshy island, and contains three eggs. 



The Whiskered Tern — Dimensions, Ka ; Eggs, Kf — has been recorded in this country 

 about half a dozen times. It is the rarest of the Marsh Terns as far as Europe is concerned, 

 for though it breeds along the Danube, it breeds more freely in the Orange Free State, 

 forming a curious, but not the only, instance of a bird nesting both north and south of the 

 Equator. 



Hypolais. Plate iii. TURDINM { Passeridas). 



36. icterina^ 5 in. Icterine Warbler. Olive green above ; green- 



ish yellow below ; greenish yellow eye stripe ; legs 

 blue. 



The Icterine Warbler — Dimensions, Be; Eggs, Co — has only been recorded three times 

 in this country. 



Ibis. Plate xviii. IBIDIDM, 



215. falcinellus^ 22 in. GLOSSY IBIS. Bronze brown with green and purple 

 reflections ; bill decurved ; face bare ; 27 remiges ; 

 legs dark green. 



The Ibis — Dimensiona, Qa ; Eggs, No — was once made out to be the Liverpool Liver, 

 and it certainly seems to be the Black Curlew of East Anglia ; but its visits are at very 

 distant intervals. It gives its name to the magazine under whose auspices the list we are 

 working to was originally compiled. 



