Chap. 3. 



BIRDS OF VERMONT. 



97 



THE PURPLE MARTIN. 



THE BARN AND CLIFF SWALLOWS. 



toes before, and one behind which is fre- 

 quently reversible ; nails hooked ; wings 

 very long and acute. The sexes and 

 young are nearly alike. They feed on 

 insects, which they catch flying. They 

 migrate to tropical countries to spend the 

 winter. 



Genus Hirundo. — Linnaus. 

 Generic Characters. — Bill short, triangular, 

 depressed, wide at tlio base, and cleft nearly to the 

 eyes; upper mandible notched and a little hooked 

 Qt the point ; nostrils basal, oblong, partly closed 

 by a membrane and covered by the advancing 

 feathers of the frontlet ; tongue short, bifid ; tar- 

 sus short; toes and claws long and slender, ihreo 

 before and one behind ; the exterior united as far 

 as the first joint of the intermediate oiio ; wings 

 long; the first quill longest; tail of 12 feathers, 

 and forked. 



THE PURPLE MARTIN. 



Hirundo jjurpurca. — Linn^us. 

 Description. — Color of the head, whole 

 body and scapulars black, with a rich 

 glossy shade of bluish purple ; wings and 

 tail pitch black, with little gloss; bill, 

 legs and claws black ; margins of both 

 mandibles inflexed in the middle ; nostrils 

 basal and oval. Female brownish black 

 above, with very little of the purple gloss ; 

 belly brownish white with hair browii 

 spots ; breast brownish gray. Length d 

 inches; spread of the wings 16 inches. 



History.— The Purple Martin is the 

 largest of our swallows, and is more inti- 

 mate with man than any other undomes- 

 ticated bird. It returns from the south 

 about the last of April, and formerly 

 reared its young in the hollows and exca- 

 vations in old trees ; but since the country 

 has become settled, habitations have been 

 provided for this general favorite in al- 

 most every neighborhood, by the erection 

 of martin boxes. Its nest is made of 

 leaves, straw and feathers; and the eggs, 

 from 4 to 6, are pure white and without 

 spots. The Martins have sometimes ar- 

 rived so early in the spring as to become 

 chilled to death in their houses during a 

 cold storm. This v;as the case a few years 

 ao-o in the vicinity of Burlington. The 

 tlTglit of the Martin is very rapid, and, 

 like the redoubtable King Bird, it pursues 

 and boldly attacks eagles, hawks and 

 crows, and drives them from the neigh- 

 borhood of its dwelling. There is said 

 to be a tradion that the Martin was not 

 seen in New England till about the time 

 of the revolution. It is, however, men- 

 tioned by Kahn as being common in New 

 Jersey in 1749. They usually depart to 

 the south about the middle of August. 

 Part i. 13 



THE BARN SWALLOW, 



Hirundo rufa. — Gmehn. 



Description. — Color above and band 

 on the breast steel-blue ; front and beneath 

 chestnut brown, paler on the belly ; tail 

 forked, with a white spot on the lateral 

 feathers, the outer ones narrow and an 

 inch and a half longer than the next ; 

 legs dark purple ; iris hazel. Female with 

 belly and vent rufous-white. Length 7, 

 spread 13. 



History. — This swallow is, perhaps, 

 more generally diffused over the state 

 and better known than either of the other 

 s])ecies ; but it would seem that theif 

 numbers have rather been diminishing 

 for several years past in this state, while 

 those of the Cliff Swallow have been 

 vastly multiplied. This swallow arrives 

 in Vermont about the 28th of April. (See 

 parrc 13.) They generally build their 

 nest against a rafter or beam in the barn. 

 It is formed princi])ally of mud, and lined 

 with fine grass and a few feathers. The 

 eggs, usually 5, are white, spotted with 

 reddish brown. 



FULVOUS, OR CLIFF SWALLOW- 



Hirundo fulva. — Vieill. 



Description. — Top of the head, back, 

 upper side of the tail and wings brown- 

 ish black, with violet reflections from the 

 head, back and wing coverts; forehead 

 marked with a crescent of yellowish 

 white ; chin, throat and sides of the neck 

 brownish red ; rump yellowish red ; belly 

 white tinged with reddish brown ; bill 

 black, short, depressed, and very broad 

 at the base. Wings long, slender; first 

 quill longest, second nearly as long ; tail 

 even, extending as far as the folded 

 wings. Length of the specimen before 

 me .5.^ inches; folded wing 4:^. 



History.— This swallow seems to have 

 been hardly known to ornithologists till 

 about the year 181.5, when they were no- 

 ticed near the Ohio river in Ohio and 



