Family Hirundinidce Purple Martin 93 



The nest is now placed on the beams or rafters 

 of a barn or other similar building, although " swal- 

 low cave " at Nahant recalls the fact that other 

 places were once utilized for this purpose. Eggs 

 are laid in late May. There are often two sets. 



The note is a twitter, often uttered by the bird 

 when on the wing. Bicknell describes it as " a low 

 chattering trill, often terminating with a clear liquid 

 note, with an accent as of interrogation." 



LITERATURE: 



A Naturalist's Rambles. (Art. "Do Swallows Hibernate?") 

 C. C. ABBOTT. 



44. PURPLE MARTIN 



( Progne sub is . ) 



Male: intense metallic steel-blue, both above and below, in old 

 birds almost black ; wings and tail blackish with blue reflec- 

 tions. Wings very long. Beak and feet weak, dark. Bird con- 

 siderably larger than a sparrow. Female : upper parts dark 

 brown with bluish tinge ; under parts grayish brown mottled 

 with darker ; wings and tail dusky. 



THE purple martin maybe found especially in the 

 neighborhood of water, or skimming over its sur- 

 face in search of the insects on which it feeds. Like 

 all the swallows, it is constantly on the wing, and its 

 sustained, graceful flight " skating on the air " 

 serves at once to mark it as a member of the swal- 



