Notes on How to Start a Colony of Purple Martins 7 



The box should be placed on a high pole, at least sixteen feet above the 

 ground. 



The box should be ready about the first day of April for new colonies, but 

 several weeks later will do for old colonies. Many new boxes have been taken 

 up by the Martins as late as the first of June, and non-breeding birds may come 

 during June and July. 



A hinged pole, which allows the box to swing down to the ground, is a great 

 convenience, and has many obvious advantages. By all means make the pole 

 cat-proof and, still better, take the additional precaution of exterminating 

 locally the cat, the birds' worst enemy. 



The Martins require assistance in their continuous struggle with the 

 English Sparrow, if you do not want to see this beautiful Swallow driven away. 



There are many ways to aid these birds: One of the best is everlastingly to 

 rid the bird-houses of all Sparrow nests, beginning about the first of April, 

 and continuing even after the Martins appear to be in full possession. Every 

 once in a while a pair of sly Sparrows will slip into one of the rooms and fill it 

 full of rubbish while the Martins are away, not to say anything about how they 

 like to eat the eggs of the Martins. A claw-hook fastened to a long stick makes 

 an ideal cleaning tool. 



Shooting is a first-class way to make the English Sparrow go, and this is 

 effective only when both male and female are killed. When only one is killed 

 the other one brings around a new mate the next day. Where a city or town 

 ordinance prohibits shooting, the fourth of July is a glorious day to make up 

 for lost time, and destroy a lot of pests. It is not necessary to shoot every 

 Sparrow, as a few judicious shots are suflScient in most cases. 



Poisoning is a very good method to thin out the hosts of English Sparrows, 

 but is most effective as a winter treatment. For more information, see U. S. 

 Department of Agriculture Farmers' Bulletin 383, "How to Destroy English 

 Sparrows," which is sold by the Superintendant of Documents, Washington, 

 D. C, for five cents a copy. 



A new enemy of the Martin is the Starling {Sturnus vulgaris), a recent 

 importation from England, which has gained a strong foothold in many of the 

 states along the Atlantic seaboard. The writer has yet to see a Starling in 

 western Pennsylvania, and intends to treat them like their cousins, the English 

 Sparrow. 



Many persons who formerly have put up bird-houses for the Martin only 

 to see them crowded with Sparrows have given up in despair. They should 

 remember that to start and to hold a colony of Martins is a pleasure for the 

 bird-lover, requiring preseverance and patience in fighting against their enemies. 

 One should not become discouraged with a failure the first year. Nothing 

 that comes easily is worth much. 



