PROGNE PURPUREA — THE PURPLE MARTIN. 273 



ashy brown, paler on the belly and beneath the tail. Tarsi 

 and toes without feathers. The young have the wing feath- 

 ers edged with pale brown. 



Length of male 5| to 5f inches. The female is smaller. 

 Feeds, like its congeners, entirely on insects. 



Genus Progne, Boie. 



Bill strong and short, the gape very wide, the sides grad- 

 ually comi^ressed, the culmen of the latteral margins 

 arched to the tip, the latter inflected; the nostrils basal, 

 lateral, open and rounded; tail considerably forked; tarsi 

 shorter than the middle toe and claw, about equal to the 

 toe alone; toes long, strong; lateral ones equal. — JBaird. 



This genus was founded on the Tlirundo puri^urea^ (our 

 species,) as the type. The larger size, and more robust 

 form, distinguish the species from their relatives of the two 

 preceding genera. 



Progne Purpurea, Boie. — The Purple Martin. 



A well known species, and very widely distributed, be- 

 ing found on both sides of the Rocky Mountains, in all the 

 States and Territories. It arrives in Ohio from the middle 

 of April to the first of May, according to the season. Occa- 

 sionally it may appear in the neighborhood of Cincinnati 

 during the first or second week in April, when the weather 

 is warm. 



They seldom begin to breed near Cleveland until the 

 beginning of May. Two broods are raised in the season. 

 Audubon says that they leave the Northern States earlier 

 than other swallows, but several have remained in this 



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