ture. But to come to the more immediate object of this communication. Mr. Hepburn suggests the propriety of ascertaining "the geographical limits within which the swallow breeds in the chimneys of dwelling-houses." This proposal is surely worthy of particular attention. That the chimney swallow should seldom, if ever, be found nestling in the places, from its haunting which we are led to suppose it derives its name, is a fact calculated to astonish many a British out-door naturalist. During many years only one instance of this bird building in the chimney of a dwelling-house has come under my observation. The house was in Mid Lothian; and the chimney in which the nest was fixed had not been used for nearly a dozen years. I cannot altogether vouch for this statement, as it is long since the occurrence, but the impression is strong on my mind that it is authentic.
House Martin.—Yesterday having occasion to pass under the magnificent viaduct of forty-two arches over the valley of the Almond, on the line of the Edinburgh and Glasgow railway, I was astonished to find that hundreds of window swallows, or martins, were fixing their nests under an ornamental ledge, placed a few feet below the copestones. The little creatures were at work as I passed, and the bed of the river literally swarmed with them, engaged in picking up materials for building. How odd was their appearance when they attempted to run on the sand! Their nestling in such a place appeared to me somewhat singular, as, during the whole day, trains are passing westward and eastward along the viaduct, making a noise loud enough to be heard four or five miles off. Robert Dick Duncan.
Vale of Almond, Mid Calder, Edinburghshire,
June 10, 1843.
Notes on the Habits of a Masked Gull in confinement.[1]
By Thomas Gough, Esq.
The stormy weather which occurred in the latter end of November, 1841, compelled large flocks of sea-gulls to resort to our meadows and pastures in search of food. One of these birds came into my possession in the following manner. A number had alighted in a field pastured by sheep; and whether in default of suitable food, or tempted
- ↑ This bird is the Larus capistratus, or masked gull, of Fleming and Yarrell, and the brown-headed gull of Jenyns and Eyton. Sketches of the heads of this and the species next mentioned have been made from Mr. Yarrell's figures, to show the difference.
