119 FIELD AND HEDGEROW. 
HOUSE-MARTINS. 
OF five houses, a stable, and chapel wall, much fre- 
quented by martins, the aspects were as follows :— 
House No, 1, nests on the north side, south side, and 
east, both the south and east very warm; No. 2, on the 
south and east walls—these walls met in an angle, and 
as it were enclosed the sunbeams, making it very heated 
sometimes; No. 3, on the south and west walls, the 
warmest sides of the building; No. 4, all along under 
the southern eaves, a very warm wall; No. 5, also under 
the southern eaves, and not elsewhere. The stable 
fronted south ; there were nests front and back, north 
und south; the chapel eave that was frequented faced 
towards the west. In the case ot several other houses 
the nests were on the sunny side; but I am not so well 
acquainted with the localities. So far as my observation 
goes, I think the house-martin—with all the swallow 
tribe—prefers warmth, and, if passible, chooses the sunny 
side of a building. A consideration, however, that 
weighs much with this bird is the character of the take- 
off; he likes a space immediately in front of his nest, 
free of trees or other obstructions, so that when rushing 
out from his little doorway he may not strike against 
anything. For ages it has aiso been remarked that the 
house-martin likes the proximity of man, and will build 
