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 sa 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 oi | 
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 MARTIN-HOUSE. 
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 
Photo by 
the Author 
