“Away! away! thou summer bird; For Autumn’s moaning voice is heard, In cadence wild, and deepening swell, Of winter’s stern approach to tell.” [Illustration: HOUSE MARTIN, OR WINDOW SWALLOW. (_Hirundo urbica._)] THE MARTIN is something less than the swallow, with a comparatively large head, and a wide mouth; the colour of the upper parts a bluish black, the rump and all the under parts of the body white, the bill black; the legs covered with short white down. These birds begin to appear about the middle of April, and for some time pay no attention to the business of nidification, but sport and play about as if to recruit themselves from the fatigue of the journey. Should the weather prove favourable, it begins to build early in May, placing its nest generally beneath the eaves of a house, often against a perpendicular wall: without any projecting ledge to support any part of the nest, its utmost efforts are necessary to get the first foundation firmly fixed, so as to carry the superstructure safely. On this occasion, it not only clings with its claws, but partly supports itself by strongly inclining its tail against the wall, making that a fulcrum; and thus fixed, it plasters the materials into the face of the brick or stone. But that this work may not, while soft, sink by its own weight, the provident architect has the prudence and forbearance not to proceed too fast; but by building only in the morning, and dedicating the rest of the day to food and amusement, he gives it sufficient time to dry and harden. By this method, in about ten days, the nest is formed, strong, compact, and warm, and perfectly fitted for all the purposes for which it is intended. But nothing is more common than for the house-sparrow, as soon as the shell is finished, to seize on it, eject the owner, and line it according to its own peculiar manner. Sometimes, however, the Martins prove too clever for the sparrow; when the intruder obstinately retained possession of the nest, the Martins have been known to collect from all parts of the neighbourhood, each bringing a pellet of mud, with which the orifice of the nest was soon securely closed, and the unfortunate sparrow was then left to die of starvation. The Martin will return for several seasons to the same nest, where it happens to be well sheltered and secured from the injuries of the weather. They breed the latest of all our swallows, often having unfledged young ones even so late as Michaelmas. The first hatch consists of five eggs, which are white, inclining to dusky at the thicker end; the second, of three or four; and of a third, of only two or three. While the young birds are confined to the nest the parents feed them, adhering by the claws to the outside; but as soon as they are able to fly they receive their nourishment on the wing, by a quick and almost imperceptible motion.