like its congeners, is a summer visitant only, arriving in spring, at the

ave sté at the House-Martin,
Biot late in the season, generally about the middle of

this is neither early nor
the Sand-Martin and Swallow, and earlier than the Swift, which
Where, then, does the fairy little Martin spend its days when
ote, that it certainly goes to Spain ; and, in my opinion,
r quarters of by far the greater portion of our
bird that it is scarcely necessary for me to state it

appointed time, almost to a day 5
April; thus it is later in its arrival than
does not appear until the beginning of May.
not with us? We have seen, from Mr. Crowley’s 0
ds still further south to Morocco, the winte

So much is generally known respecting this
, and that it is equally numerous 1n the warm lowlands as on the sides of the

it procee
migrants.
is found in all parts of Britain
bleakest mountains; wherever human habitations e

derer. In all these situations it rears one or two broods
as the duty of incubation has been completed and the

xist, there assuredly will be found this pleasing wan-
a year, according to the more or less favourable
state of the season. It is believed that as soon
young are able to assist themselves, the old birds forsake their progeny and wing their way back to whence
Py 5 :

they came, leaving instinct to perform its wonderful power of
Besides the British Islands, the House-Martin ranges as far

”

guiding the young to the ‘‘ unknown land ” to

which their parents have preceded them.

north as the Ferroe Islands and Iceland ; it is also found in every part of Europe from the shores of the

Mediterranean to Uleabourg; as with us, it is everywhere a summer sprite, whose appearance gladdens
the hearts of the inhabitants, assuring them by its appearance that summer is not far behind. I am not
satisfied that it is not found in other countries further east ; at the same time I much question whether the
assertion of its being a native of Amoorland, Kamtschatka, and even China be correct; indeed I feel assured that
the bird is not found therein, but that the species mistaken for it is probably the one I have called Chelidon
Cashmiriensis, which may also be the bird Mr. Jerdon speaks of in his ‘Birds of India,’ under the name of
English House-Martin, as having been found by him in small numbers, in one locality, on the Neilgherries.
It may, however, extend its range throughout Persia, to the confines of India; but we have no direct evidence
of the fact. The Rev. H. B. Tristram states that “it is the last of the Swallow tribe to return to Palestine,
where it appears in great numbers about April 5th, and breeds in colonies on the sheltered faces of cliffs in the
valleys of northern Galilee.” ‘The chief differences between C. Cashmiriensis and C. urbica is the smaller
size of the former, and particularly the darker colours of its axillary feathers.

“The ease and rapidity of its flight, however marvellous, excites no astonishment, as we are daily in the
habit of witnessing them,” says Macgillivray ; “but a true lover of nature can, nevertheless, contemplate its
airy windings for hours with delight. The evolutions of this species resemble, in all respects, those of the
Swallow ; but its flight is perhaps somewhat less rapid, although it is certainly very difficult to decide with
accuracy in a comparison of this kind. Its sweeps and curves, however, seem to me less bold, or, rather,
less extended ; but its dexterity is equally remarkable. The influence of the weather on the flight of insects
causes it to observe the same selection of places that they do; so that, in calm and cloudless days it flies
more in the open air, in windy weather more in the shelter of hedges and walls, and in damp evenings it
skims over the grass and corn.”

To give some idea of the numbers of insects which these birds capture to feed their young, besides those
taken for their own support, I may mention that one of Macgillivray’s correspondents informed him that a
pair of Martins began to feed their young ones, four in number, at twenty-five minutes after four o’clock in
the morning ; and at ten minutes after eight in the evening, when they ceased from their labours, they had

oe : ; ’
iG ee a 307 times: this was on a bright sunny day ; on a subsequent dull rainy one, they only
. Phe male Martin slightly differs from the female in size, being smaller, and having a less forked tail ;
in other respects the two sexes are externally alike. .

The nest, which is built of pellets of mud collected ys hed inrden inedinsttlienisy enon ammreiernllcan es

times wool, and, lastly, a number of fe a ae
ee er of feathers ; the eggs are four or five in number, of a pure white, without

spots, but with a blush of flesh-colour showing through the almost transparent shell
The two figures, in the upper part of the Plate, are of the natural size.