1 10 ' Birds of Oregon and Washington 



THE WESTERN MARTIN. 



General Description : 



Male : Glossy purplish-black above and below. 



Female : Bluish-black, less clear above ; whitish 

 below. 



Length, 8 inches. 

 Found about houses and hollow trees. 



This is one of the family of Swallovi^s, and yet 

 is so individual in nearly all ways that we must 

 regard the bird a little apart from his relatives. 

 He is much larger than any of the Swallows 

 (the length of the Barn Swallow's outer tail- 

 feathers must not be taken into account). The 

 color of the male, strikingly beautiful, is alto- 

 gether unlike that of any other Swallow. Then 

 its flight is higher, less swift, less free and exten- 

 sive. It alone of all its kindred has a full 

 rich voice, which all day long, while the bird 

 is on the wing or at rest, may be heard like 

 "musical laughter rippling up from the throat." 



The eastern variety, almost exactly like the 

 western, has from time unknown preferred the 

 home made for it by man — the Indian, before 

 the white race appeared, having placed a hol- 

 lowed gourd lined with bark in the crotch of his 

 tent poles, to invite the Martin's friendship. 



