832 NOUTII AMKlilCAN lilKDS. 



sloins of j,'rasse.s, tine twif,'s, bits of striiij,', Viijjs, etc. Tlii'su iire ciiridcssly 

 tlirowu tui^L'tlifr, ami tlu' wlmli! is usually warmly lini'd witli loatluM's or 

 otlior aoi't iimterials. Tiiis nest is dccupii'd year al'tiT year by tliu sauio ])air, 

 but with I'at'li iiuw brooil tlit! lu'st is tliniouj^lily roi)aii'eil, ami ol'tuu increasuil 

 in sizo liy tlio accumulatiou ol' nnw materials. 



Tlu! Martins do not winter in tlio Uniti-d States, but enter the extreme 

 Southern portions early in February. Auilubon states that they ftrrivo often 

 in jirodi^ious ilocks. On the Ohio their advent is about the I'lth of ^huvli^ 

 nnd in Missouri, Ohio, and I'ennsylvania aliout the Itlth of April. Alnait 

 Boston their app(!arance is from the LTith of Ajiril to the middle of ]\biy. 

 Mr. Audubon states that they all return to the Soutla^rn States about the 

 20th of Auj;;ust, but this is hardly correct. Their de])arture varies very nmch 

 with the .season. In the fall of 187l' they were to be found in large Hocks, 

 slowly moving southward, but often remaining several days at a tinu! at the 

 same place, and then proceeding to their next halt. Their favorite places for 

 such stoj)S are usually a high and uninhabited hillside wv.iw the .sea. 



The Martin is a bold and courageous biid, ])rom])t to meet and repel dan- 

 gers, especially when threatened by winged enemies, never hesitating to at- 

 tack and ilrivo them away from its neighborhood. It is therefore a valuable 

 protection to the barnyard. Its I'ood is the laiger kinds of insects, especially 

 beetles, in destroying which it again does good service to the husbandman. 

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

 nuisical, are far from being unpleasant ; they begin with the earliest dawn, 

 and during the earlier periods of incubation are almost incessantly repeated. 

 The eggs of the Purple Martin measure .'.'4 of an inch in length by .?!• in 

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

 a uniform creamy-white, and are never s])otted. They are cpiite uniform 

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

 from the Northern States. 



Progne subis, \ar. cryptoleuca, Uaiud. 



CUBAN HABTIN. 



Prague cryptokvai, IJAnu), I'ev. Am. liinls, lSii4, L'"7. Hiritndo jmrpurrn, D'Oiin. Sagr.i's 

 Cuba, Ois. 1840, 9-1 (i'.\cl. syii.). Progne ptiqmren. Cad. Jour. IHM, 3. — Gundlacu, 

 Cab. Jour. ISCl. 



Sp. CiiAlt. (No. .'i4,L'4'_', (J). Color niiich !i.< ill A .s'v'd'.s-. — rich ,-;t<'cl-l.liic, witli piiri)lu 

 or violet fjloss ; the win J,'.-; and tail, however, nnicli more ileeidedly ijlossed, and with u 

 sliadu of frreeiusli. The leathers around the anns and in the anterior portion of eris.smn 

 witli dark Ijhiish down at base, pure snowv-wliite in thcnnddle, luid then blackish, pa.ssiug 

 into the usual .steel-lilue. Tlie white is entirely concealed, and its amount and pui'ity 

 diminish as the featlier.s are more and more distant, until it fades into the usual gray 

 median portion of the feather. The usual concealed white ])ateli on the sides under tho 

 wings. Total length, 7.*>0; wiug, 5.r)0 ; tail, 3.40; perpendicular depth of fork, .80; dil- 



