summer resident. Professor E llio tt Coues in his ‘ Birds of the N o rth -W e s t/ wwites:—
“ A scending th e Missouri in th e spring of 1864, I saw thousands of these birds along
tb e banks, which were, in suitable pbvces, riddled with their boles. Again, in tbe fall of
1872, hig h er u p tb e river, I observed m ultitudes of th e ir deserted nests, often in the soft
ground capping tb e bluffs, where, a little below, tb e bottle-shaped nests of the Cliff-
Swallow's were fastened in great masses.” Mr. Hoffmann, in bis paper on tb e birds of
Nevada, has tb e folloiving r e m a r k “ N oted by Air. Ridgway as rath e r abu n d an t a t
Truckee Reservation in Alay. Fou n d a t Provo, U tah , by Air. Henshaw. This species
appears to associate with tb e Rough-winged Swallow {Stelgidopteryx serripennis), its
h abits b eing similar, th ough i t is found less ab undantly.” Air. Scott writes from
Arizona “ Breeds about F o rt Lowell {R . Brown). I have no record of its occurrence
except a t this point, where I saw i t in Alay and Juno.” Air. D rew states th a t in Colorado
tb e Sand-AIartin breeds from the plains up to 6000 feet.
Air. Anthony states th a t b e saw a single bird a t Apache, in south-western New Alexico,
on th e 26tb o f Ju ly . I n b is p ap er on tb e birds of Texas, Air. Dresser speaks of tbe
Sand-AIartin as “ common th ro u g h o u t tbe whole co u n try ,” and b e noticed tb e first a t
Eagle Pass on tb e 20tb of F ebruary. Tbis sta tement is a t variance with tb e statements
of all rec en t observers. Ne a r San Antonio, according to Air. Attwa te r, i t is only a “ rare
m ig ran t.” I n Concho Co., AVestern Texas, Air. Lloyd says it is a rare fall migrant.
Tbe same is tb e case in tb e south-western portion of the State, where Air. Beckham
records th a t several flocks Avere seen a t Corpus Christi. Specimens are in tb e Salvin-
Godman Collection from th e last-named place, procured by Air. Armstrong on tb e 8tb of
October, and tb e same collector m et Avitb th e species a t Brownsville in April and May.
I n Florida tb e Sand-AIartin is only knowm as a m ig ran t. Air. Scott records i t from
tb e Gulf coast of Florida, and states th a t it Avas “ observed as an uncommon m igrant in
th e vicinity of Tarpon Springs. Air. A tk in s has not mot with, tb e species a t either of
th e points on th e Gulf coast where be has collected.” Air. Scott has also noticed i t in
th e Caloosabatcbie r e g io n ; and Alessrs. B iw s t e r and Chapman noticed i t m ig ra tin g on
tb e Suwanee River.
Air. Jones, in bis lis t of tb e birds of th e Bermudas, says th a t two specimens were
killed by Captain Lyc in September, and a few were seen near Ham ilton on th e 8tb of
August.
I n Mexico th e Sand-AIartin bad only been seen by Sumichrast ne ar Tehuantepec
u n til a few years ago, when Air. AV. B. Richardson procured some specimens a t Xico-
tencal, in Tamaulipas, in Alay. Air. G aumer procured a single female in Cozumel Island
on tb e 16 tb of Alay, and Alessrs. Salvin and Godman g o t specimens ne ar Dueñas iu
Guatemala and on th e shores of th e Lake Yzabal.
Very few notices have been published on tb e distribution in its winter home in
South America. Tbe Salvin-Godman Collection contains a single example from Bartica
Grove in British Guiana, where it Avas procured by tb e late Hen ry AVbitely on tbe 16tb
of A pril. I n tb e same mo n th Air. Edward B a rtle tt m et with th e specFs a t Nauta,
on tbe P eru v ian ilmazons ; and N a tte re r likewise procured it a t Caigara, in Brazil, in
April, and noticed i t n e a r Maribatanas in flocks, consorting with R iru u d o erythrogastra.
Air. Cory, in bis late st work on tbe ‘ Birds of th e AVest Indies,’ giA’Cs th e Sand-
AIartin as occurring only in Jamaica, Cuba, and Porto Rico.
The life-bistory of tb e Sand-AIartin is Avell k u oA v n and has often been described.
AA'e ba\'e selected tb e description of th e habits of tb e bird given by Mr. Hen ry Seebohm,
as one of tbe best which has been written :—
“ The habits of th e Sand-AIartin differ in se\'eral points from those of tbe Ilouse-
Mai'tin and the SwalloAv. Tbe comparative rarity of suitable brocding-placcs makes it
a much more local bird, and causes it also to appear much more gregarious; aud the
fact th a t it rarely breeds except iu perpendicular earth-cliffs, Avhich arc seldom fouud
except on th e banks of rivers or lakes, makes it appear to be more partial to tbe neighbourhood
of Avatcr th an is really th e case, though in th is country tb e increasing number
of railAvay-cuttings provides tbe Sand-AIartins Avith o th er brecdiug-places, of which they
are ready enough to avail themselves. I n some localities the Sand-Martin is said to be
tbe first SAvallow to arrive in tb is c o u n try ; b u t in most places Avbcro migratory birds
a re observed on jiassage i t is recorded as being somcwliat la te r th an o ur other Iavo
species. Tbe a rriv al of all the Sa v oU o a a -s iu spring is somoAvbnt irre g u la r : they seem to
cross tb e Avater in small parties, aud to fly very low, frequently even following tlie SAveep
of tbe wave.s. Krü p e r gave tlie end of March as tb e earliest appearance of th e Sand-
AIartin in Asia Alinor; b u t I rb y freq u en tly saAv them a t Gib raltar before th e end of
February. AVrigbt says th a t they pass th ro u g h Alalta a little late r tlian th e otlier
SAvalloAvs; and Naumanu asserts th a t they seldom arrive a t th e ir brceding-quarters in
Germany u n til early in Alay. I n E n g lan d they are freq u en tly seen early in April.
There seems to be little doubt th a t the Sand-AIartins a re the earliest S a v u H o w s to leave
this country in au tumn . Du rin g August th e ir numbers rapidly decrease, and by the
middle of September very fcAv remain, though I have seen th em on tb e Sussex coast as
la te as the middle of October.
“ Iimnediately a fte r its arrival iu th is country tb e Sand-AIartin repairs to its
breeding-placc, and th e old boles are used as sleeping-places a t nig h t. These boles are
made in perpendicular oartb-eliffs ou tlio banks of rivers or lakes, on tbo sea-shorc, or in
railvvay-cuttings, sand-pits, graA'el-quarries, or wherever a steep cnonglilmnk o f suitable
soil can be found. Sandy ground is usually chosen because it is easiest to excavate;
b u t it must not bo too loose, otbei’Avise th e sand Avoiild fall aud bury the bird o r her
eggs. Sometimes very curious sites arc chosen. I have seen Sand-AIartins Hying in
aud o u t of th eir lioles Avhicb they bad excavated in some enormous heaps of half-rotten
saAvdust lying near tho Brandon station of tbo Gre a t diastcrn Railway. In Norway,
betAveen Lillehammer and the Dovrcfjcld, m any of tb e peasants’ bouses are roofed with
tu rf, aud some of these th ick roofs of dry sandy peat a rc buiTOwed with nests of tbe
Sand-AIartin.
“ I n a l l cases th e b ird e x c a v a te s i ts o a a 'u ab o d e , a n d g e n e ra lly r e tu r n s to i t sev e ra l
y e a rs in s u c c e s s io n ; b u t I n o tic ed o n tb e b a n k s o f th e D a n u b e m a n y d e s e rte d co lo n ies
close to o th e rs AA'bcrc tb e b ird s Avere sw a rm in g . B o th m a le a n d fem a le a s s is t in th e
proc ess o f e x c a v a tio n , Avhicb u s u a lly o c c u p ie s o n ly th e e a rly h o u r s o f tb e d a y , tb e re s t
b e in g d ev o ted to c o u r s in g th r o u g h th e a ir in s e a rc h o f food. T h e l i tt l e c r e a tu r e s b eg in
:iQ