Note 48 — JOURNAL OF A NATURALIST. (continued 3)

I remember no bird that seems to suffer so frequently from the peculiar construction of its nest, and by reason of our common observance of its sufferings obtains more of our pity, than the house-marten. The rook will at times have its nest torn from its airy site, or have its eggs shaken from it by the gales of spring; but the poor marten, which places its earthy shed beneath the eave of the barn, the roof of the house, or in the corner of the window, is more generally injured. July and August are the months in which these birds usually bring out their young; but one rainy day at this period, attended with wind, will often moisten the earth that composes the nest; the cement then fails, and all the unfledged young ones are dashed upon the ground; and there are some places to which these poor birds are unfortunately partial, though their nests are annually washed down. The projecting thatch of the old farm-house appears to be their safest asylum. The parent birds at times seem aware of the misfortune that awaits them; as, before the calamity is completed, we may observe them with great anxiety hovering about their nests.