AK16 House Martins - Legacy Series

The three birds featured in this series are featured flying above scanned copies of John McGeoch’s ornithological record cards dating from the 1940’s.
The house martin is a familiar bird due to its habit of nesting in small colonies under the eaves of our homes. Its glossy dark blue head and back, white rump with a forked tail make it very identifiable. It spends much of its time in flight, collecting insect prey. They are summer migrants and spend their winters in Africa. Although still numerous and widespread, recent moderate declines earn them a place on the Red List.
Their decline has been most severe in the south and east of Britain. The reasons for this decline are not fully understood, although birds that build nests on PVC as opposed to brick, wood or concrete have much lower breeding success, with nests more likely to collapse on the PVC substrate.

Framed H 37 x W 32.5 cm