POPULAR HISTOUY OF BIRDS. 
cousin^ and as if aware of its friendliness to man^ selected for 
its nests^ the smoking chimney,, the chambers of mills and 
outhouses, or the corners of the shady verandah. The nest 
is formed of mud or clay, mingled with grass or straw, and 
lined with a layer of fine grasses and then of feathers. 
Sir John Richardson"^ in July, 1826, remarked during his 
monotonous voyage in the Dolphin boat, among the uninte- 
resting flats of the Mackenzie River, that he and his comrade 
were much pleased by the busy flight and cheerful twit- 
tering of the sand-martins, which had scooped out thousands 
of nests in the banks of the river ; and we witnessed with 
pleasure their activity in thinning the ranks of our most tor- 
menting foes, the raosquitoes.^^ Our own sand-martin has 
often struck us, as being singularly familiar and fearless of 
man, excavating, as it often does, its nests in banks, easily 
within reach. Such open confidence obtains for the most 
part general forbearance, just as the window swallow finds 
few, even of the churlishly disposed, who would molest its 
clay-built hanging dome in the corners of our windows, 
even though the scatterings on the panes of glass some- 
times draw the attention, and we could wish them away. 
* Narrative of Captain Franklin's Second Journey to tlie Shores of the 
Polar Sea, p. 188. 
