THE PURPLE MARTIN. 



273 



much at the hands of these notorious pests, and their great reduction in num- 

 bers throughout the state is doubtless due largely to this cause. 



Arriving about the middle of March, in the southern part of the state, and 

 from the first to the middle of April in the northern tier of counties, the Mar- 

 tins are apt to wait quietly about their houses until the weather settles. Cold 

 days are spent altogether within doors, and a cold snap at this season is sure 

 to decimate the species, for the 

 bird feeds exclusively upon in- 

 sects. Their food is not con- 

 fined to the smaller insects, as 

 in the case of the other Swal- 

 lows, but bees, wasps, dragon- 

 flies, and some of the larger 

 predatory beetles are consumed. 



The birds mate soon after 

 arrival. Old nests are reno- 

 vated and new materials are 

 brought in, — straw, string, and 

 trash for the bulk of the nest, 

 and abundant feathers for lin- 

 ing. They are very sociable 

 birds, and a voluble flow of 

 small talk is kept up by them 

 during the nesting season. The 

 song, if such it may be called, is 

 a succession of pleasant war- 

 blings and gurglings, inter- 

 spersed with harsh rubbing and 

 creaking notes. A particularly 

 mellow coo, coo, coo recurs 

 from time to time, and any of 

 the notes seem to require con- 

 siderable effort on the part of 

 the performer. 



Purple Martins are not only brave in defense of their young, but often 

 go a little out of the way to pick a quarrel with strangers. Hawks are set 

 upon fearlessly and driven out of bounds, and the birds' presence in the barn- 

 yard is appreciated on this account. There is besides a running fight to be 

 kept up with Wrens. Bluebirds, and English Sparrows, for possession of the 

 home box. So far as I have been able to observe, however, the birds are 

 not molested by the sturdier Tree Swallows, as is said to be the case in New 

 England. In Northern Illinois the nesting houses are habitually shared 



THE MARTIN-HOUSE. 



