180 The House Martin. 

When about to quit this island, they assemble in 
very large flocks, and may often be seen by hundreds 
together in an evening where water and reeds abound : 
but I fear these dear friends must undergo vast losses 
during their absence from this country, as the birds 
that return yearly bear no manner of proportion to the 
number that leave us in October. They rear two or 
three broods in a year, and are everywhere abundant. 


an 
Arie 
a 
yt 
I 
- { i, 
Wil 
NN 
Nut 
io PARTE 
oe 

