392 
HIRUNDINIDjE. 
When we arrived at the bridge at twenty minutes past 8 o’clock 
in the evening, great numbers of house-martins were most noisy 
before retiring for the night, which they had done at half-past 
eight. Next morning, their call-notes were equally loud; not 
less than three hundred birds being on wing together. It is an 
excellent feeding station. My companion (A. H. Haliday, Esq.,) 
found quite a harvest of insects (Phryganece, Sfc.) on the railing 
of the bridge. This is a fine structure of nine arches, having 
its walls surmounted by a stone coping with an iron railing. The 
martins’ nests are all in an unusual site, (though it would not be so 
for the Hirundo rustical) beneath the arches of the bridge. This 
is not owing to any want of their usual building places, the eaves 
of houses ; those in the village of Toome, distant only a few 
hundred paces from the bridge being perfectly suitable for the 
purpose, and similar to what are chosen in other parts of the 
country : — but not a nest is to be seen there. Hundreds of birds, 
too, covered the slated roof of the inn during the forenoons. 
We went under the arches of the bridge on our way to and from 
Church Island, and saw innumerable nests, looking most inter- 
esting, from the variety of form assumed in consequence of the 
nature of the locality ; many were of a rude Elorence-flask-like 
shape. The pellets of clay on the outside were remarkably large, 
appearing at first sight like gravel of pretty uniform size. The 
apertures to the nests on the southern side of the arches looked 
south, as those on the opposite side, did north, doubtless on 
account of the greater facility thus afforded during the progress of 
building, and afterwards for the egress and ingress of the birds. 
At ten minutes past 8 o’clock this evening, an amazing increase 
to the number of these martins appeared above the bridge : there 
could not have been less than five hundred together. At twenty 
minutes past eight, the whole body made a sweep to the arches of 
the bridge and a number retired to their nests, but several down- 
ward sweeps from on high, like those of starlings to their roosting 
place, were necessary, before they all got settled for the night. 
Their numbers reminded me of a swarm of bees hurrying to their 
hive. Until about roosting time they would seem to range to 
