332 MUtTI! AMKKK AN IJIKDS. 



stems of j^Tasses, tine twii^s, Itits of striiiij, raj's, etc. These are carelessly 

 thrown toLTetlur, uikI tin* whole is usually warmly lined with leathers or 

 other soft materials. This nt'>t is occjijMcil year alter year l»y the same pair, 

 hut with eaeh new hrood \\[v. nest is tii»»rouuhly repaired, and often increased 

 in size hy the accumulation of new materials. 



Tlu^ Martins do not winter in the I'nited States, hut enter tlu' extreme 

 Southern pcjrtiiuis early in Keltruarv. Auduhon states that they arrive often 

 in prodigious tloeks. On the Ohio their advent is ahout the l."»th of ^huch 

 and in Missouri, Ohi(», and Pennsylvania altout the Idth of Aj>ril. Alniut 

 IJoston their aj>])earance is from the L'oth of April to the middle of May. 

 ^Ir. Auduhon states that tlu-y all return to the Southern States ahout the 

 2«)th of AuLjust, hut this is hardly correct. Tiieir departure varies very much 

 with the season. In the fall of 187n they were to he found in lar^'e Hocks, 

 slowly moving southward, hut (»ften remaining scneral days at a time at the 

 same place, and then ])roceedini,' to their next halt. Their i'avorite }»hu;es for 

 such st(»ps are usually a hi^h and uninhahited hillside near the sea. 



The Martin is a hold an<l courageous hird, ))rompt to meet and repel dan- 

 gers, esjK'cially when threatened hy winged enemies, never hesitating to at- 

 tack and drive them away from its neighhorhood. It is therefore a valuahle 

 ])rotection to the harnyard. Its iood is the larger kinds of insects, especially 

 heetles, in destroying which it again does g(K)d service to tlie hushandman. 

 The song of the Martin is a succession of twitters, which, without heing 

 nuisical, are lar from heing un])leasant ; they hegin with the earliest dawn, 

 and during the earlier j)eriods of incuhation are almost incessantly repeated. 

 The eggs of the Purple Martin measure .lU of an inch in length hy .7l> in 

 breadth. They are of an ohlong-oval shaj)e, are pointed at one end, are of 

 a uniform creamy-white, and are never spotted. They are (piite uniform 

 in size and shape. Eggs from Florida are proportionally smaller than those 

 from the Northern States. 



Progne subis, \ar cryptoleuca, Uaihd. 



CUBAN MARTIN. 



Prague o'l/ptoIcKoi, BAUrD, Kt-v. Am. IJinls, 1&»>4, 277. Hiruado purpuren, D'Oun. Sacra's 

 Cuba, Ois. 1S40, 9-4 (cxcl. syu.). Prague purpurea, Cad. Jour. 18;'»C, 3. — Gum)L.vcii, 

 Cab. Jour. ISOl. 



Sp. CiiAU. (No. 34.242, ^). Color nincli as in P. sKhin, — rich stecl-hlue, Avitli i>in])le 

 or violet <xlo.<s ; tht» wiiiurs and tail, howovci-. nmch mori' docidedly Ldosstnl, and with a 

 shade of jrret'nish. The leathers around the anus and in the anterior portion of erissuni 

 witli dark hhiish down at hase, pure snowy-white in the middle, ami then blackish, passing 

 into the usual steel-blue. The white is entirely concealed, and its ainoinit and purity 

 dimini.<h a.s the feathers an* more and more distant, until it fades into the usual jrray 

 median portion of the feather. The usual concealed white pat(,-h on the sides under the 

 wings. Total length, 7.<>0; wing, o.oO ; tail, 3.40; perpendicular depth of fork, .8G; dif- 



