260 ORNITHOLOGY AND OOLOGY. 



PBOGNE PURPUREA. Boie. 

 The Purple Martin. 



Hirundo purpurea, Linnaeus. Syst. Nat., I. (1766)344. Aud. Orn. Biog., L 

 (1831) 115. 



Prognepivrpurea, Boie. Isis (1826), 971. 



DESCRIPTION. 



Largest of North-American Swallows; closed wings rather longer than the 

 deeply forked tail ; tarsi and toes naked ; color, in the old male, everywhere glossy 

 steel-blue, with purple and violet reflections. Female and immature male less 

 brilliant above, pale-brownish beneath, blotched with darker or with bluish. 



Length, seven and thirty one-hundredths inches; wing, five and eighty-five 

 one-hundredths ; tail, three and forty one-hundredths inches. 



The Purple Martin is the least abundant of all our 

 Swallows, and, indeed, in some localities is quite rare. 

 It arrives from the South about the first week in May, 

 and is distributed in single pairs through all New Eng- 

 land. 



The description, by Wilson, of the habits of the bird, is 

 so well written that 1 present quite a liberal extract from it. 

 He says, 



" The summer residence of this agreeable bird is universally 

 among the habitations of man, who, having no interest in his 

 destruction, and deriving considerable advantage as well as amuse- 

 ment from his company, is generally his friend and protector. 

 Wherever he comes, he finds some hospitable retreat fitted up for 

 his accommodation and that of his young, either in the projecting 

 wooden cornice, on the top of the roof or sign-post, in the box 

 appropriated to the Blue-bird, or, if all these be wanting, in the 

 dove-house among the pigeons. In this last case, he sometimes 

 takes possession of one quarter or tier of the premises, in which 

 not a pigeon dare for a moment set its foot. Some people have 

 large conveniences formed for the Martins, with many apartments, 

 which are usually full tenanted, and occupied regularly every 

 spring ; and, in such places, particular individuals have been noted 

 to return to the same box for several successive years. Even the 

 solitary Indian seems to have a particular respect for this bird. 



