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Vol.. II. APRIL, 1893. No. 



AMERICAN BIRD-VISITORS TO IREI.AND AT HOME. 



BY W. E. PRAKGER, OF KKOKUK, IOWA. 



II. The PURPI.K Martin {Progne siibis). 

 The Purple Martin is one of those American birds whose 

 occurrence in Ireland certainly cannot be attributed to escape 

 from confinement ; especially in 1840 (when a specimen was 

 secured near Dublin), it was hardly likely that an attempt to 

 transport such a purely insectivorous bird across the Atlantic 

 could have been successful, as that was long before the days 

 of ocean racers. That a bird of such great powers of flight 

 and migratory habits .should sometimes wander far from its 

 native land is to be expected, and as this species is ver}' 

 abundant on the North American continent, it is not so sur- 

 prising that wanderers should occasionally reach the western 

 coasts of Europe. 



The Martin spends the winter in Central and South 

 America, none remaining in any part of the United States ; but 

 before the winter is well over, the northern movement has 

 commenced, and they advance rapidly, long before the bulk of 

 the insectivorous birds, and reach this latitude (Iowa) about 

 the I St April, and may occasionally have to endure snows or 

 sharp frosts that not unfrequently occur at that time of year. 



They do not seem to nest, however, till they have been with 

 us some time, and I observed two pairs closely a few years 

 ago which did not have eggs till the middle of June, but this 

 was certainly unusually late. The Martins have now all for- 

 saken their old nesting-places in holes in trees, or crevices in 

 rocks, and take advantage of the houses that their friend man 

 has provided for their comfort. The birds are such universal 

 favourites that all over the country boxes are placed under the 

 eaves or on some convenient tree or post for them to build in, 



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