PURPLE MARTIN 489 



Eggs. — Tlie series of eggs taken by Colonel Thayer's collector con- 

 tained two sets of three, eight sets of four, and one set of five eggs. I 

 have examined these eggs and cannot see that they differ materially 

 from the eggs of our common cliff swallow, except for a slight average 

 difference in size. The measurements of the 43 eggs average 19.5 

 by 14.0 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 

 21.6 by 14.3, 20 5 by 14.8, 17.3 by 13.7, and 20.2 by 13.5 millimeters. 



PROGNE SUBIS SUBIS (Linnaeus) 

 PURPLE MARTIN 



Plates 69, 70 



HABrrs 



CONTKIBUTEU BY ALEXANDER SPKCNT, JR. 



It has always seemed to me that literature has been somewhat 

 chary of the purple martin. Song and story have long stressed the 

 advent of robin, bluebird, and goose as heralds of spring, and so they 

 are, but is the martin any less so? True, it comes somewhat later 

 than these others, but who can fail to thrill when, on waking early 

 one morning, one hears the rich, gurgling calls of the first martin ! 

 It is a signal that spring is really at hand, indeed, at one's very 

 door. Wlien the martins come, can summer be far behind? 



This largest of the swallows, in its handsomely glossy livery, 

 whether slurred by literature or not, has been a favorite with hu- 

 manity for many generations. Even before the white man came to 

 America's shores it was a dooryard bird in Indian villages, and its 

 status as such is unchanged today. It is, beyond all doubt, the 

 "bird-box" species of this country. Its range is extensive, almost 

 universal indeed, and it occurs from coast to coast and border to 

 border. Young and old admire it, encourage it, and protect it. and 

 those who have a word of criticism for it are few and far between. 

 Alexander Wilson said that, in his day, he never found but one man 

 who disliked the martin, and many a modern ornithologist will have 

 had the same experience, if indeed it can be matched ! 



Some birds occupy high pedestals in human regard, typified by 

 the robin in the North and the mockingbird in the South, but in 

 North and South the purple martin comes and goes as a welcome 

 arrival and regretful departure; an always invited avian neighbor. 

 Few are those anywhere who would fail to subscribe heartily to the 

 wish — may its tribe increase. 



Spring. — The martin makes its appearance in the United States, 

 from late in January on through April. The vanguard of the migra- 

 tory hosts from South America cross the Gulf of Mexico and make 



