xx Journal of Proceedings.
Lieut.-Col. Russell, J.P., D.L. (of Stubbers), read the following paper
on—
" Martins and Sparrows.
" Although of late years we have heard much of the destruction of birds,
and of the efforts made to protect them, yet the steady progressive dis-
appearance of one of our best species, the house martin, appears to
escape general notice. According to Gilbert White, of Selborne, there
was hardly a town or village in his time that did not swarm with martins.
My own observations, extending over nearly half a century, lead me to
think that there is scarcely one martin now for fifty formerly. The cause
of this decrease is plain enough to any one who keeps his eyes open—the
sparrows turn the martins out of nearly every nest they build. In villages
once frequented by perhaps 500 martins, now only three or four nests can
be seen, all, or nearly so, occupied by sparrows, which may be seen going
in or out, or sitting a few feet off, watching the martins build till the shell
is advanced enough to suit them; or, again, an untidy bunch of grass or
straw hanging out shows what has taken place. When the martins, for
protection from their ' fell enemies,' as White rightly called the sparrows,
make their nest close to a window or door, it is generally destroyed by
people who seem to have no notion that, except in a place where the
sparrows are afraid to come, the martins have scarcely a chance of keep-
ing a nest. I have heard it said ' they must do it for mischief—they
might build anywhere else.' I could give any number of instances of
martins being finally banished by the sparrows from houses and buildings
where for many years they have bred in ever decreasing numbers. Plenty
of such cases occur every season, and they cannot re-establish themselves
without help. In some favourite places they build a nest or two every
year, but are always turned out by the sparrows. The only thing which
prevents or retards the total extermination of martins in this country is
that, after building nests all the summer and being robbed of them, they
sometimes succeed in rearing a very late brood after the sparrows have all
left off nesting and betaken themselves to the wheat fields. When thus
detained the martins often suffer much from cold weather before their
young can fly, and a frosty night in October will destroy many, old as well
as young.
observed the nest of a robin built in the porch of his cottage at Putney; some time
afterwards he found that a humble-bee had taken possesion of it, and had adapted it to
its own purposes. Unfortunately the nest was destroyed before he had ascertained the
name of the species; but, judging from the description Dr. Bell gave of the bee, there
can be little doubt of its being B. pratorum. Mr. Walcott, of Bristol, communicated a
similar account of finding the nest of a robin invaded by B. derhamellus, the eggs of the
bird being covered with the accumulation of pollen and honey stored up by the bees.
Mr. Walcott added to this account:—' I have in two previous instances found broods of
the same bee in birds' nests.' Another correspondent gave me the following account of
B. muscorum:—' This insect took possession of a wren's nest at Holmbush, near
Brighton; I had observed the bird building, and afterwards was astonished on finding
that a bee had taken possession of the nest, and had, as I found, constructed its waxen
cells amongst the eggs of the wren.' A very remarkable account of one of the brown
bees was related to me by a lady, who observed it frequently flying into a stable through
a latticed window; the hee was engaged in collecting a bundle of horse-hair from a heap
accumulated from currying the horses. Having made up a small parcel, the bee flew off
with it a short distance, and settled down with it among some grass. On examining the
spot a nest constructed entirely of horse-hair was discovered. This very interesting
nest was unfortunately destroyed before the bee had quite completed its construction."
—Ed.