Western House Martin: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Garden Birds of Europe · day 2 of 7

Five facts

1. Both parents build the nest from mud, carrying it pellet by pellet in their beaks and sticking it under the eaves of houses.
2. House sparrows often try to steal the nest while it is being built. Once it is finished, the doorway is too small for them to get in.
3. Its name means "of the town". Thanks to clean-air laws, house martins now nest right in the middle of big cities such as London.
4. Sometimes young birds from a pair's first brood stay on and help their parents feed the second brood.
5. It catches insects on the wing, at about 21 m up in summer. In its winter quarters, it hunts even higher, above 50 m.

The quiz

1. What do house martins build their nest from?

• Woven reeds
• Mud pellets (correct)
• Spider silk and moss
• Small stones

Both parents carry mud pellets in their beaks to make the nest.

2. Why can't house sparrows take over a finished house martin nest?

• It is built underwater
• It has no entrance at all
• The martins guard it every second
• The entrance is too small (correct)

Once complete, the opening at the top is too narrow for sparrows.

3. What helped house martins breed in central London?

• Clean-air laws (correct)
• Bird feeders
• New ponds in parks
• Fewer pigeons

Clean-air laws made it possible for them to breed in big city centres.

4. Who sometimes helps feed a pair's second brood?

• House sparrows
• Barn swallows
• Young from the first brood (correct)
• Nobody, the female feeds them alone

First-year birds from the first brood occasionally help.

5. Where does the house martin hunt higher, above 50 m?

• Over its nest in summer
• In its winter quarters (correct)
• Only in the rain
• Only over cities

On its wintering grounds it hunts above 50 m, higher than in summer.

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