Coi-y. Cat. B. West Ind. p. 115 (1892) ; C. H a r t Men-iam, N. Amor. Paim. no 7
p. 112 (1803).
ClivKola riparia cmerea, Stejn. Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus. no. 29, p. 268 (1885).
Cotile riparia sinensis, Tacz. Bull. Soc. Zool. Pran ce, 1885, p. 40 0 ; id. Mom. Acad.
Imp. Sci. St. Pc tersb. (7) xxxix. p. 188 (1891).
C. m m o r , alii 4 -2 5 -Í-3 5 p o l l . , fa s c icu li pa rva nil fincm ta r s i posticnm p o sita : to rq u e pcctorali bruiineil.
Hab. p e r regiones Palienrc tic am c t N c a rc tic am f e r ì to ta s atstivnus, in regionibus lu dic ii, .Ethioniofi e t
Neotropicfi liilicruans. ’
A d u lt male. G e n e ra l c o lo u r above da rk e a r th y b row n , a little lig h te r o n th e lower back, rum p , and
u p p e r ta il-covc rts, th e fe a th e rs o f w hich have m o re o r less d is tin c tly in dic a ted m a rg in s o f pa le r
b row n ; wmg-coverts d a rk e r b rown th a n th e back, w ith in d is tin c t m a rgins o f li - h t e r hrow n-
b a s ta rd .w in g , prim a ry-cove rts, a u d q u ills very d a rk brown, th e in n e rm o st secondaries p a le r and
more like tlie back ; ta il-fe a th e rs brown, w ith a nan-ow w hitish edging towards th e tip o f th e
in n e r web o f all b u t th e c e n tre f e a th e r s ; lores dusky bla ckisli, w ith a s lig h t ho a ry shade above
them , rcm am s o f h o a ry edges to th e f e a th e rs b e in g seen on th e basal fro n ta l fe a tlie rs ; fe a th e rs
below th e eye an d e a r-cove rts brown ; cheeks, th ro a t, an d u n d e r surface o f body p u re white, th e
th ro a t sep a ra ted from th e ch e st by a ve ry bro ad aud d is tin c t colla r o f d a rk brown, th is brown
c olour also ex ten d in g down th e sides o f tlie body, an d oc cupying th e c en tre o f th e b re a st in tlie
shape o f a few fe a th e rs which have th e in n e r webs d a rk b rown ; th ig h s brown ; axillaries aud
u n d e r wing-coverts d a rk b rown, th o se n e a r th e edge o f th e wiug b roadly edged w ith whitish ■
quills d usky brown below, lig h te r a lo n g th e in n e r webs : “ b ill I jla ckish brown ; legs d a rk brown ¡
in s d a rk hazel ” {Dresser). T o ta l le n g th 4 '8 inche s, cu lm en 0 '3 , wing 4-25, ta il 2-1, ta rsu s O'dhI
A d u lt female . S im ila r in plumage to th e male. To ta l leu g th 5 inches, culmen 0 '3 5 wing 4-2 ta il 1-9
ta rsu s 0-4. ° ’
lo um j. L ig h te r brown th a n th e ad u lt, and d istin g u ish ed b y th e sand y -ru fo u s o r a shy-whitish edgings
to th e fe a th e rs o f th e back aud wings ; th e th ro a t is also slig h tly tin g ed with pale ru fo u s ; th e
th ro a t-h a n d is s tro n g ly p ro nounc ed, h u t ha s pale edges to th e feathers.
T hese lig h t m a rgins to th e fe a the rs seem to disappe a r somewhat before th e y o u n g birds leave
th is co u n try , specimens killed in A u g u s t h aving th e pa le edgings m uch b ro ad e r and more
s tro n g ly cha ra c te riz ed th a n a y o u n g b ird killed a t th e end o f S eptember.
L ike o th e r Swallows, th e S a n d -M a rtin m o u lts while iu its w iiite r-q u a rte rs . M r. Gu rn ey ha s pre sented
to th e B ritish Museum a specimen sh o t b y M r. T. Ayres in th e T ran sv a a l o n th e 2 8 th o f
F eb ru a ry . T h e b odj'-plumagc seems to have b e en completely m o u lted , b u t some o f th e quills
and ta il-fe a th e rs are n o t e n tire ly renewed. F rom th is spe c imen i t appe a rs th a t in th e fresh-
m o u lted b ird th e in n e r secondaries a re d is tin c tly edged with white, a u d rem a in s o f the se white
edges a re seen iu a ll n cwly-a rrivcd bird s in Europe .
Dr. S te jn eg e r o b se rv e s:— “ The K am ts c h a tk a n specimens collected b y m e ag re e very well with birds
irom M e s te ru E u ro p e , a lth o u g h b e ing a shade d a rk e r. T hey also agree w ith th em iu th e exten t
o f th e fu rc a tio n o f th e ta il, th e d is ta n c e b e twe en th e tips o f th e lo n g e s t and slio rte st ta il-fe a tlie rs
b e in g as g re a t as th e len g th o f th e h in d to e w ith claw. I n a ll th e Ame ric an specimens
exammcd b y me (16), th e same d istanc e is h a rdly longe r th a u th e h in d to e w ith o u t claw, th is
be ing th e case even iu specimens from A la sk a . I t will, th e re fo re , be well n o t to u n ite th e two
ra c e s, th e Am e ric an fo rm be ing Clivicola riparia cinerea (Vieill.)
In 'v iew o f th e above obser\-ations by th is c a re ful observer, we have gone over th e scries of
S an d -M a rtin s in th e B ritish Museum, a n d we find th a t th e re is considerable v a ria tio n in th e
d e p th o f colour and in th e am o u n t of fu rc a tio n in th e ta il. These ch aracters a rc n o t even
co n s tan t in th e American series, and th e la tte r c an h e ma tched in every respect b y examiiles
from th e Old IVorld. AVe c an n o t, th e re fo re , up h o ld th e sepa ra tion o f th e P a lie a rc tic and
N e a rc tic San d -M a rtin s, even a
Hab. Breeding in th e n o rth e rn p a r ts of th e Old aud New Worlds, w inte ring in more southe rn localities
in th e In d ia n , E thiopian, and N eotropic a l Regions.
The Sand-Alartin, or Bank-AIartin as it is sometimes called, from its hab it of nesting
in sandbanks, is a common species in nearly every p a rt of Enrope, becoming rare r in tbe
n o rth e rn p arts of th e continent. I t has been found tbro u g lio u t the -whole ex ten t of the
British Islands, and is a regular summer visitor all over Ireland, a rriving a t tb e end of
Alarch or early in April, and leaving m tbe early p a rt of September. As with tbo
House-AIartin, late r instances of its stay a re frequently recorded, and Air. Howard
Saunders, in bis ‘ Alanual,’ refers to an exceptional record of tb e bird ’s occurrence iu
county Limerick as late as tb e 30tb of November in 1859.
Air. Kobert Gray w r ite s :—“ The Sand-AIartin is widely d istributed throughout
Scotland, extending to a ll the remoter islands. I t is a reg u lar summer v isitan t to Lewis,
Harris, and No rth Uist, breeding in sandbanks on tb e western sides of these islands.
I t also inhabits South Uist and Barra, b u t I have not seen i t on Benbccula, which
probably docs not furnish suitable banks for a bird of its mining habits.”
I n th e Orkney Islands, according to Alessrs. Buckley aud Ilaxwic-Brown, it was
formerly a common summer resident, and bred in larg e numbers, b u t is now much less
numerous, so th a t it Ciin only be considered a n irreg u la r visitant, being more plentiful
in some years th an iu others. I t has been recorded by Air. I I. A. Evans as breeding
near Leiwick in the Shetland Islands.
So far as is a t present known, tlie Sand-AIartin has never been noticed e ith e r in
tbe Eajroe Islands or in Iceland. Air. Dresser, in bis ‘ Birds of Europe,’ gives a full
account of its d istribution in Nm-thern Europe, and publislies tbe following notes from
Prof. Robert Collett, of Cliristiania, and other observers, writin g as follows :— “ ‘ I t breeds
from Southern Norway up to the Russian frontier, n o rth of the Polar Circle, and along
the west coast i t is one of tbe commonest species. I t breeds up in tbe birch-region in tbo
feUs both on tb e Dovre and in Róndeme.’ In a fu rth e r note Prof. Collett tells me th a t
it aiTives in Norway about th e middle of May, and leaves again early iu September. In
tlic Gudbrandsdal and Ostcrdal he found them breeding in tb e roofs of houses, which
are there frequently made of turf, into which the Alartins had burrowed, th o u g h many
other more suitable localities for th e pui*pose of nidification were close a t band. Pastor
Sommei'felt says th a t i t is ‘ n o t common on tb e A'aranger fiord, b u t breeds in several
localities, as, for instance, a t Scida, on th e Tana river a t Nuorgan, a t Polmak, and at
Oxev an d e t; ’ and be th in k s th a t o f la tte r years it has increased in numbers. Nilsson says
th a t it is numerous th ro u g h o u t Sweden up into tbe Polar Circle, arriving rath e r later