HOUSE MARTINS AS BUILDERS. 
39 
mode of entrance might be thought extremely inconvenient, 
but the birds constantly approach it at a right angle and make 
a sudden sharp turn into it, with no diminution of their 
customary speed. This performance will remind the old coach 
traveller of the way in which four horses and the vehicle were 
suddenly whisked round at Guildford, and got through an 
entrance that was barely wide enough for their admission, and 
at right angles to the road. 
Three nests were made two or three years ago under the 
eaves of a lower part of the house on the north side, but well 
protected against the violence of wind and rain. The droppings 
from the young birds being inconvenient at this spot, a board 
was put under the nests to catch them. The birds did not 
approve of this alteration, and took the trouble to construct 
fresh abodes in worse positions rather than put up with it. 
Perhaps the board was placed nearer to the nests than they 
approved of. It might also have offered too convenient a resting- 
place for enemies wishing to attack them, which once happened 
when one nest was used by other birds. 
It is well known that the house martin will often make ex- 
periments, before determining the site of a nest, by sticking 
little bits of mud to a wall ; but works of this kind have been 
noticed for several years when no more nests seemed to be 
wanted for that season. Were these elementary building 
lessons for the benefit of the rising generation, or prepara- 
tions for a subsequent season ? The latter may be probable, 
though why should they put some dozen or more patches all of 
a row when only a few would be used ? Anyhow, those who 
had not been builders in a previous year would have an op- 
portunity of seeing how the process was commenced. 
In 66 The Birds of Sherwood Forest,” an interesting book by 
Mr. Sterland, the writer, speaks of the eaves of buildings, or 
corners of windows as the most favourite spots for martins 
building, “ but,” he adds, u I have never met with a nest in 
such places open at the top, as I have frequently seen it repre- 
sented in works of natural history. In one recent book, the 
illustrations of which are generally very faithful, the nest is 
figured as a shallow dish fixed to a wall and entirely open at 
the top. Surely this must be a mistake, or if drawn from 
nature it cannot be taken as the type of the nest of this species. 
All that I have ever seen have had their walls carried up until 
they met the projection under which they were built, leaving a 
rounded hole immediately under the angle of the tile, or 
cornice.” 
In none of the nests which it is the purpose of this paper to 
describe could the form be likened to 66 shallow dishes,” but the 
open tops have been common. Mr. Sterland is not likely to be 
