1 10 Birds of Oregon and Washingtoji 



THE WESTERN MARTIN. 



General Description : 



Male : Glossy purplish-black above and below. 



Female : Bluish-black, less clear above ; whitish 

 below. 



Length, 8 inches. 

 Found about houses and hollow trees. 



This is one of the family of Swallows, and yet 

 is so individual in nearly all ways that we must 

 regard the bird a little apart from his relatives. 

 He is much larger than any of the Swallows 

 (the length of the Barn Swallow's outer tail- 

 feathers must not be taken into account). The 

 color of the male, strikingly beautiful, is alto- 

 gether unlike that of any other Swallow. Then 

 its flight is higher, less swift, less free and exten- 

 sive. It alone of all its kindred has a full 

 rich voice, which all day long, while the bird 

 is on the wing or at rest, may be heard like 

 " musical laughter rippling up from the throat." 



The eastern variety, almost exactly like the 

 western, has from time unknown preferred the 

 home made for it by man — the Indian, before 

 the white race appeared, having placed a hol- 

 lowed gourd lined with bark in the crotch of his 

 tent poles, to invite the Martin's friendship. 



