530 



Wlirre-CELLIED SWALLOW. 



the same eflect. Some Near? ago, the Piii})le Martins whieh l)re(l in many boxes iu Cam- 

 brid(>-e, arrived from the south quite early, induced by unusually ^varm veather, and took 

 possession of their respective domiciles, but unfortunately the instincts which proniptt'd 

 them to come north so soon were at fault, for they were scarcely established in their 

 summer houses when a ])rolonged cold snap came on and many of the poor Martins were 

 frozen to death in their houses. The remainder left at t)nce and thei-e have been no 

 birds of this kind found nesting in that section of Cambridge .since. 



The Purple Martin is the only Swallow with which I -.nn ac((nainted, that will 

 readily perch on trees which are covered with foliage, alighting amid the leaves after the 

 manner of nearly all the i)asserine birds, but they never hop from twig to twig. The 

 sonn'ofthe Martin is loud and cheerful; in autunui, ^vhen they are more generally 

 distributed than at other times, these clear notes IVe(piently reach the ear when the birds 

 are almost invisible as they sail high in air wdtli a strong and gracseful flight. Early in 

 September, these birds migrate south, but do not remain in Fl)rida all winter, and not 

 one is to be seen in the state after the first of November. 



PROGNE CRYPTOLEUCA. 

 Cuban Martin. 



DESCRIPTION. 



Sp. Oh. Form, size and general color similar to that of the I'urple Martin, but rather more richly 

 colored above, showing a violet tinge ; and the bases of the feathers of the aual region are decidedly white, 

 and the tail is more deeply forked. 



HABITS. 

 The first and only time that I ever saw the Culian Martin was on Biscayenne Bay, 

 Florida. I was rowing along the shore north of Miami, in company with Mr. H. W. 

 Henshaw, when we observed two of these birds flying about a dead stub in the pine 

 Avoods, which at this point came down to the shore uninterrupted by a hammock. This 

 was in April, 1871, and the birds were evidently searching for a, nesting place. 



GENUS II. TACHYCINETA. WHITE-BELLIED SWALLOWS. 



Bill, shorter than in Progne, with the upper mandible less decidedly curved. Feet, proportionately 

 smaller and the tail is much less forked. We have two species within our limits. 



TACHYCINETA BiCOLOR. 

 White-beliied Swallow. 



Hirundo bicolor VielL, Ois. Am., Sept. I, 1S07, (Jl. 

 DESCRIPTION. 



Sp. Ch. Form, somewhat robust. Size, not large. Upper mandible, considerably curved. Feet, 

 small. Tail, but slightly forked. Sternum, with the keel proportionately longer than in the preceding. 

 Tongue, horny and triangular, with the end cleft. 



Color. Adult in spring. Above, uniform, lustrous-greenish blue, with the wings and tail brownish. 

 Beneath, including under tail coverts, pure white. Axillaries and under wing coverts, slaty, the latter 



