608 APPENDIX. 



seen in great numbers by Sir John Franklin's party, on 

 the banks of Point Lake, in lat. 65° where its earliest arri- 

 val noted was the 12th of June. Its clustered nests are 

 of frequent occurrence on the faces of the rocky cliffs of 

 the Barren Grounds, and they are not uncommon through- 

 out the whole course of the Slave and Mackenzie Rivers. 

 On the 25th of June, 1825, they made their first appear- 

 ance at Fort Chepewyan, and built their nests under the 

 eaves of the dwelling-house, six feet above a balcony that 

 extended the whole length of the building, and was a fre- 

 quented promenade. They had consequently to graze the 

 heads of the passengers on entering their nests, and were 

 moreover exposed to the curiosity and depredations of the 

 children, to whom they were novelties ; yet they preferred 

 the dwelling-house to the more lofty eaves of the store-houses, 

 and in the following season returned with augmented num- 

 bers to the same spot. At Fort Chepewyan the young 

 came abroad on the 14th of July, and at the end of the 

 month the whole took their departure. Under the eaves of 

 a house, the nests instead of being clustered and provided 

 with long necks, are placed in a single line, and adapted to 

 their situation, the tubular entrance is either entirely want- 

 ing or reduced to a mere ledge. The eggs are 4, oblong, 

 and white with dusky spots. The note is a gentle twitter- 

 ing like that of the Martin of Europe, whose mode of build- 

 ing it also nearly adopts. 



PURPLE MARTIN. {Hirundo purpurea, Linn.) 



This species, which Mr. Swainson observed round Per- 

 nambuco, 8^ degrees south of the line, makes its first appear- 

 ance at Great Bear Lake on the 17th of May, at which 

 time the snow still partially covers the ground, and the rivers 

 and lakes are fast bound with ice. In the middle of August 

 it retires with its young from the fur-countries. 



