64 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 9-No. 6 



(P. subis) has been writing parts of his life 

 history over all the southern half of our 

 territory. By April 3, his appearance had 

 gladdened the hearts of the watchers all 

 the way from the Gulf to southern Minn. 

 But how differeut his surroundings ! On 

 March 25 he is resting at Abbeville La., 

 29 5T , where the air is fairly alive with his 

 winged food. About ten days later one of 

 his cousins invades, single-handed, the icy 

 north and appears at Lanesboro, Minn., 

 43 43 , braving a temperature of "many de- 

 grees below freezing," whence he must re- 

 treat or perish. Whichever alternative he 

 accepted, certain it is that none of his 

 kind were again seen until the weather 

 moderated. 



Probably at no place in the broad Mis- 

 sissippi are the Martins so closely and 

 intelligently studied as at Mr. Widmann's 

 in St. Louis. In his back yard are a great 

 many comfortable bird houses each num- 

 bered and standing on a separate pole. The 

 whole family unite in watching the birds 

 and a full and exact record is kept of the 

 inmates of each box. The record reads 

 like a fragment of one of nature's love 

 stories. Here is part of it: 



" March 24. The first arrivals were seen 

 at 4.45 p. m., being three birds southeast 

 of us above the Mississippi. They disap- 

 peared without coming nearer. March 25. 

 At 4.45 p. m., the first of our Martins ar- 

 rives. It was an old male and descending 

 with a cheerful cry of recognition, it 

 alighted on a box, rested a few minutes, 

 looked into several boxes and left again. 

 At 5.45 it returned and remained within 

 sight until 6.20, when he retired to srjend 

 the first night in one of our boxes. 

 March 28. In the morning the sec- 

 ond male arrived. March 29. At 2.30 

 another male visits ours, rests a little and 

 disappears in the north. Therefore we mark 

 him as the first transient visitor this spring. 

 March 30. Our two Martins remained in 

 their boxes most of the cool, bright morn- 

 ing, when at 10.30 the first female arrived. 



She was greeted with excited, continued 

 carols, and did not at first know what to 

 do. She visited alternately their boxes, 

 Nos. 2 and 5. which they had selected for 

 their homes, until she decided for No. 2 

 and retiring with him, has remained with 

 him ever since. At 11.45 another male 

 visits us but soon leaves again. At 6.30 

 p. m., a party of six males and females go 

 straight north. March 31. There is an 

 increase during the day. At one time, 6 

 p. m.. ten Martins were in the air. No. 5 

 captures a female and brings her home in 

 the evening. Another male which had ar- 

 rived during the day was less fortunate ; he 

 comes home in the evening accompanied 

 by a female. She alights on the box which 

 he enters with melodious strains of invita- 

 tion and persuasion, reappearing imme- 

 diately to see why she does not follow him. 

 But when he found she had already left, 

 his astonishment and chagrin were plainly 

 visible. He is a bachelor to this day, re- 

 turning alone to his box, No. 17. It will 

 be interesting to note whether or not he re- 

 mains a bachelor all summer as the one 

 did last year. April 3. Another male ar- 

 rives and takes lodgings in No. 1. Up to 

 April 6 the same numbers remain; that is, 

 two pairs and two single males. There 

 are hardly twenty birds in the whole south- 

 ern part of the city, in a district where two 

 months hence there will be two hundred; 

 hence we say that ten per cent have 

 arrived." 



At the end of the season it will be worth 

 our while to read of the courtships and 

 varied domestic life of these same Martins ; 

 of their wonderful diligence in bringing 

 food to the young and the curious haps and 

 mishaps which befall them. 



But all this time birds have been moving 

 northward, and we must hasten and over- 

 take them. Put on your overcoat for you 

 will soon need it. A second winter visited 

 northern Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin and 

 Minnesota during the first week in April, 

 and proved a decided though temporary 



