and martins assembled in large flocks about the last week in September, and to all appearance left us on the 5th of October: I did not see a swallow or martin during the remainder of October, but on the 4th of November we were visited by a large flock of swallows (Hirundo rustica) and martins (H. urbica); the thermometer was at about 38° in the morning when I first saw them, and at about 48° during the hottest part of the day, the wind at N.E.; on the 3rd it blew very strong from the S.S.E. They remained with us until the 16th of November, not frequenting their usual haunts, but keeping more about the town; the weather was exceedingly mild during their stay, the thermometer being seldom below 50°. On the 17th of November the wind was N.N.E., and the thermometer at 38°. On the 22nd there were a few stragglers to be seen, mostly swallows; on the 28th I saw one swallow flying over the houses of the town; on December the 4th I saw three or four swallows flying about the houses, and on the 7th of December there was one swallow flying up and down the same street for about half an hour, but I could neither see nor hear of another anywhere. This was the last appearance for the year that has come under my notice. I think there can be no doubt that the protracted stay of the swallows was induced by the exceeding mildness of the season, but it seems a curious fact that they should have returned to us with a gale of southerly wind, and then leaving us with the first northerly wind, after remaining twelve days. Perhaps it may not be amiss to state that this is not a favourable locality for sandmartins.—James J. Trathan; Falmouth, January 28, 1843.
Note on the late departure of the Swallow in 1842.It struck me as worthy of notice that during last summer I scarcely saw a swallow in the vicinity of London; in the month of September I occasionally observed one or two; in October they were more numerous, and during the week ending October 22nd, they were quite abundant, even in the most crowded and noisy thoroughfares, and I observed them continually passing the window of the printing- office in Ratcliff Highway. In November I repeatedly saw three or four in the neighbourhood of Camberwell and Peckham; and I learn from a gardener in the employ of Mr. Bevington, of Camberwell Terrace, that during the last week in November he saw a great number of swallows flying over.—Edward Newman; Peckham, January, 1843.
Note on the late departure of the Swift in 1842. When returning from shooting on the salt marshes at Salthouse, near Cley, on the north coast of Norfolk, on the 25th of September, I saw three young swifts playing around some sand-hills, in company with a large flock
