The sky wears house martins like summer bunting: a twirling decoration of forked tails and rapid wing beats. These small swallows chirp with sweet clipped notes as they head boldly to our own homes and offices.
What do house martins look like?
White-bellied and white-rumped, the house martin’s wings glimmer blue-black, as does the ‘cap’ that adorns their heads as handsomely as a pilot’s helmet.
How big are house martins?
House martins are about 12cm long and weigh about the same as an AA battery.
How to tell the house martin apart from the sand martin?
The house martin is most likely to be confused with a sand martin, which has earthy- brown colours, or perhaps a barn swallow; this species is distinguished by its much longer tail.
Where do house martins live?
House martins did exist before houses, of course; in a Britain without people, they would nest on inland and coastal cliffs. But our artificial rock faces of stone, brick and glass – topped with protective eaves – suit them perfectly, and on them many martins build clay-cup nests. And from them, they peer down into the world of roadworks and weekend shopping.
How do house martins make their nests?
House martins are soon busy annexing their homes on to ours. In early spring, that tiny bill – a precision instrument for seizing insects – is jammed with wet mud gathered from puddles and pond edges, with each splodge pressed against the wall with care.
Eventually a lumpy pot grows and hardens, but until its lid is complete, the martin must be wary of house sparrows, which readily squat in these constructions. A complete house-martin nest is sparrow-proof, because only a martin is small enough to slip inside its entrance. Inside, the cup is furnished with grass, hair or feathers, and four or five eggs are hatched. Most colonies have around five active nests.
Guide to bird nests: how to identify different species nest
What do house martins eat?
House martins enjoy a diet of flying insects and aphids - which they catch in flight
Where do house martins go in winter?
Their presence is so vivid in summer that the house martin’s winter absence has long caused speculation. In the 1770s, the famous naturalist Gilbert White was still wondering if martins simply hibernated. We know now they fly abroad, but exactly where remains mysterious. It is likely that they travel south of the Sahara. But until satellite tags provide a clearer story, we are left to guess at their winter adventures.
How long do house martins live?
On average house martins live for about two years
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