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favorable weather for nesting Martins prevailed throughout eastern 

 United States, interrupting and delaying them in their nesting duties. 



Unsteady weather at the time the Martins are engaged in nest- 

 building causes them to frequently abandon their work temporarily; 

 and if these unfavorable periods are protracted or duplicated, many 

 birds become discouraged in nest-building, possibly because they be- 

 come famished and must turn their attention to foraging over new 

 territory to sustain life. In this way, however, new houses are located, 

 and thus the foundation laid for new colonies; for I find that birds 

 driven away from their home boxes by these conditions do not, as a 

 rule, return there the next year; while a house occupied by non-breed- 

 ing occupants one year will contain early tenants the next. 



At times when the Martins are frequently broken up in their nest- 

 building duties by unsteady weather and other conditions, much 

 fighting is indulged in by them, and this is a cause for many leaving the 

 vicinity, or dying of exhaustion. 



On June 13th, I observed that a few of my Martin nests contained 

 eggs, but by far the greater number of birds were still endeavoring to 

 build. Of a total of about seventy pairs which had arrived by June 

 5th, only forty pairs remained to bring out broods. In the house 

 (Style No. 1, see Fig. 6) erected for Supt. Bower on the W. & W. Rail- 

 road plot, only one brood was brought out, although four nests were 

 finished in it. In this case, however, the non-breeding birds did not 

 seem to leave the community, but were frequently at the house. In 

 one of the halftone cuts, showing this house, the reader will note six 

 birds upon the roof and veranda. 



Mr. Thomas H. Wilkinson, Attorney at Law, Waynesburg, put 

 up one of our houses (See Fig. 7) on May 6th, and had good success, 

 six pairs taking up quarters. His residence is three miles from the 

 city and about a mile from the nearest Martin colony. 



So far received reports show that about sixty per cent, of the 

 Martin houses put up during 1910 were occupied by breeding birds, 

 while a large number of others report their houses occupied by Martins 

 that did not nest, but remained at the houses throughout June and 

 July. Quite a number of the houses were put up too late to insure 

 breeding birds this year, but at several of these bunches of non-breed- 

 ing birds took up quarters, thus insuring early tenants next year, and 

 swelling the per cent, of occupied houses this year. 



Only a few persons report no Martins having been seen at their 



