DIRECTOUY TO BIRDS OF EASTERN NORTH AMERICA. 



L. SWALLOWS. Hirundinidae. 



Singing perchers modified for taking their food on the 

 wing ; bill, small, but with a very wide gape ; wings, long and 

 pointed ; feet, small. Eggs, white, with or without spots. 



a. Martins. Progne. 



Large, nearly uniformly colored swallows ; bill and feet, 

 fig. 340, large; tail, somewhat forked. 

 Fig. 340. Fig. 341. 



CC, L,, a, 1. 



1. PURPLE MARTIN, A. SUBIS. 8.25 ; uniform steel- 

 blue with violet iridescence, fig. 341. Female, duller above ; 

 grayish-white beneath. Breeds throughout temperate N. A. ; 

 winters in Mexico and northern S. A. ; south in Sep. ; north 

 in April. Nests in holes of trees and bird boxes ; eggs, un- 

 spotted. Flight, strong but rather heavy. Notes, loud, clear, 

 and melodious. 



1*. FLOEIDA MARTIN, P. s. FI.ORIDANA. Differs 

 from 1 in being smaller; male, darker; female, much more 

 grayish beneath, with the white more dull. Breeds in mid- 

 dle and southern Fla. ; north in March. 



2. CUBAN MARTIN, P. CRYPTOLEUCA. Differs from 1 

 in the more deeply forked tail ; male with a broad, but con- 



