2 
HOUSE-MARTIN. 
work above windows (the sides in some instances adhering to the glass, and entirely preventing the opening 
oi the frame), under the eaves of houses, and occasionally under porches and other inconvenient positions. 
No wonder careful housewives frequently call out against the dirt and filth, to say nothing of the extra 
work caused by the pertinacity with which this persevering bird will return to some undesirable spot, 
after all traces of the offending materials have been carefully removed and effaced. In the spring of 1878, I 
noticed these birds so eager to obtain quarters against the west face of a house in East Norfolk, that their 
mud-formed cradles (some occupied and others either incomplete or deserted) stretched in an almost 
unbroken line from side to side. Two or three nests I remarked were commenced immediately below others, 
and were built up in such a manner that it was evident, if continued in the same style, they must 
effectually block the entrances of tin; two above them. The progress was unusually slow, as the structures 
were at least twice the ordinary size; I discovered, however, as the work approached completion, that they 
were contracted towards the upper portion, and in not the slightest degree interfered with the neighbouring 
domiciles. Several of the adjoining nests were also of greater length than those usually seen, the entrances 
being placed, in almost every instance, about the centre of the edifice. The small sketch will give an idea 
of the manner in which some of these curiously fashioned nests were constructed. 
To show the rapidity with which this species now and then decreases in numbers in some localities, I 
may state that while in 1878 there were seventy-five occupied nests round this house, there was but a single 
one in 1879. Though several more nests were built in the following year, and they have now slowly 
increased, the birds have by no means reached their former numbers. 
In many wild localities where houses arc scarce, Martins resort to rocks and cliffs lor breeding-purposes. 
There are two or three small colonies along the rocks below the ruins of Tantallon Castle, on the coast ot East 
Lothian. A far larger number may be found during the summer frequenting the Cromarty rocks (the same 
rano-e occupied by tbe Swifts). In many of these situations it is extremely difficult to detect the nests 
the°height at which they are placed, and the materials with which they are constructed, rendering their 
appearance almost identical both in colour and outline with the cliifs themselves. 
The ignorance often displayed concerning the difference between the two species Swallows and Maitins 
is certainly astonishing when it is considered in what universal estimation these birds are held in most parts 
of the country An author, who is often quoted by ornithological writers, gave some interesting information 
concerning a Sparrow who had appropriated a Swallow’s nest being built in by the rightful owner* lt», of 
represented hanging in graceful attitudes on some Martins’ nests suspended under the 
