264 
HIRUNDINIDvE. 
INSFSSORJES. HIR UNDINIBjE . 
FISSIROSTRES. 
SAND MARTIN. 
Hirundo riparia. 
PLATE LXV. FIG. I. 
We see less of the Sand Martin than of any of the 
swallow tribe. Whilst the other species spend the greater 
part of the time they are with ns round about our dwel¬ 
lings, building their nests under the same roof ourselves 
inhabit, it retires to the more peaceful quiet of the coun¬ 
try, and is seldom seen, unless we follow it to, its favourite 
haunt, the margin of a river. There, if the banks are 
elevated for a few feet above the influence of the water, 
and of a sufficiently porous soil, numbers of round holes 
may be seen, about the size of those perforated by the 
water-vole, which these birds have made with much toil 
and labour, as a place of reception for their nests. Should 
you examine them, you may observe that, unless the soil 
is soft and sandy, many of them remain unfinished, the 
hardness of the substance having, most probably, driven 
the birds to seek a softer soil; and yet, at some of their 
breeding-places on the sea-coast, I have found the stra¬ 
tum so hard as to cause me some trouble sufficiently to 
enlarge the holes, not only to the detriment of my nails 
and fingers, but to the destruction of a stick-knife, with¬ 
out the assistance of which my wish to obtain the eggs 
must have remained ungratified. How, then, can we 
sufficiently admire the perseverance, and wonder at the 
