CHAPTER VIII 



The Purple Martin: Progne Subis 



IN THE AIR 



For these I need make no per- 

 sonal search, nor tax the kindness of 

 friends. The Purple Martins come 

 to us. Every year at migration time 

 they sweep up from the South and 

 claim their preempted location on the 

 windmill, and in a small bird-house 

 east of the cabin, on the stump of a 

 dead wild cherry. Sometimes our 

 Wrens fail us. Sometimes our Song 

 Sparrow crosses the line and builds 

 in our neighbor's pear-tree. The Ori- 

 oles may locate with us and they 

 may not. The English Sparrows 

 drive away the Flycatchers, which 

 nest so high in the big elm we can 

 not protect them. But three stand- 

 bys never fail us; always we have 

 Martins, Bluebirds and Robins. 



Martin headquarters are on the 

 windmill, in a big box arranged for 

 eight families and placed on the 

 north side of the mill just under the 

 shelter of a small platform, above 

 which swings the wheel. This makes 

 A MARTIN DOUBLE HOUSE a splendid location for the birds, 



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