USEFUL.
THE HOUSE MARTIN.
dived in under the eaves. But those bold marauders the House Sparrows, whom over-feeding and indulgence have corrupted and made indolent, forcibly took possession of these homes which were ready for immediate habitation. My neighbour literally fought the intruders, brandishing a clothes-prop from her open bedroom window for several mornings and evenings. The Martins forsook the nests at last in dudgeon, worn out with anxiety as to their homes which are now empty, for my friend declares no Sparrows shall have them. This is one of the worst indictments against the Sparrow, as we all prefer the graceful and useful House Martins about our homes; and through this evil habit of the former their numbers are greatly lessening.
There has been a general complaint of late years that the numbers of the Swallow family are decreasing. This is an international question. If the Southern European States net and kill Swallows and other small useful birds which are passing through on their migratory flight, the more Northern States naturally suffer loss. That is why many of us regret greatly that England has not as yet seen her way towards joining that International convention for the protection of wild birds which had its first beginning in Germany in a little band of foresters and to which nearly all the European States excepting England now subscribe.
The whole study of the migration of birds is full of interest and, indeed, of mystery, much as we have learned of their life history during the last fifty years. As a humble student of bird-life, glad to learn all I can from other students, I have found that those who know most about this wonderful migration are the most modest in making definite assertions in the matter. So little, they will tell one, is as yet absolutely established fact, “the way of the bird in the air” is still shrouded in mystery.