THE SWALLOWS 189 



" I have not left him out. Have you forgotten that 

 he does not belong to the Swallow family? Though 

 he looks like a Swallow and flies like one, the Wise 

 Men know that he is not a song bird, and have put 

 him where he belongs — with the Birds that Croak and 

 Call, next to the Hummingbird and Nighthawk. They 

 call him the Chimney Swift, because he flies so fast, and 

 you must always give him his right name. 



'^ K you write very carefully in your little books 

 the description of our four common Swallows, you 

 will not find it diflicult to name them when you see 

 them. We will begin with the largest — the Purple 

 Martin." 



"Why is it called Olartin'?" asked Rap. "Did 

 somebody named Martin find it, as Mr. Wilson found 

 the Thrush they named after him?" 



" No, my boy, the name comes from a Latin word, 

 meaning ' warlike ' or ' martial,' because in the Old 

 World certain Swallows there called ^lartins were con- 

 sidered good fighters, and very brave in driving away 

 Hawks and other cannibal birds. Don't you remem- 

 ber that Mars was the God of War in classic mythology, 

 and haven't you heard soldiers complimented on their 

 fine martial appearance? " 



The Purple Martin 



Length seven and a half inches. 



Upper parts shining blue-black, not quite so glossy on the wings 

 and forked tail. 



Under parts the same as the upper in the male, but grayish-white 

 in the female and young ones. 



Song rich and musical, of two or three flute-like notes. 



