Some Notes on Martin Colonies 127 



or buildings, put it up 15 or 16 feet from the ground, and see if it will not 

 attract some of the birds flying over, who will come down and inspect it and, 

 perhaps, locate. You will be repaid for your effort by their jolly music during 

 the summer. 



The Martins leave rather early in the season — soon after the young learn 

 to fly. The time of their coming varies with the season — April 15 is as early 

 as they have come to stay in southern Michigan. 



II. SOME TOWN MARTINS 



By R. F. O'NEAL, St. Louis, Mo. 



For several seasons we have had a colony of Purple Martins in a rather 

 thickly settled residence part of St. Louis. It seems that they have found their 

 surroundings congenial enough, and that they are not at all disturbed by the 

 noise and bustle that are a part of city life. 



At first there was a four-family box, then two of them. For two summers 

 it has been a sixteen-family settlement and the home of ten to twenty Martins. 

 The small boxes — about 25 feet above the ground — are on scantlings fastened 

 to a frame garage about 25 feet from the rear of the house and on the line of a 

 brick-paved and, at times, very noisy alley. The large box is on an upright 

 that rises from the center of the roof. Within 300 feet there are five garages 

 tenanted mainly with not always silent Fords, and there is nothing of the 

 'Sleepy Hollow' kind in this stretch of alley. So much for the social disposition 

 of these cheerful birds. 



The first box was not put up until the Martins had been flying about for 

 some time, and they came to it at once. On March 31, 1914, a lone male came 

 to the box about 7 o'clock in the morning, sat on the upper perch for a little 

 while, then flew away. It seems that the males always come first, and the first 

 to put in his appearance in 1915, came on April 6. Others were flying about in 

 a leisurely way, and it is possible that they had been in the neighborhood 

 for several days. In 191 6, the date of arrival was March 30, again at about 7 

 o'clock in the morning. The winter of 1916-17 was a mild one, a good part of 

 March being rather springlike, and one or two came about 9 o'clock on the 

 morning of the 15th. 



A somewhat peculiar feature in the domestic situation of these birds is 

 the fact that the little colony for several seasons has been made up almost en- 

 tirely of females. There have been visitors from time to time, sometimes mak- 

 ing up a mixed company of some twenty-five, but for three summers there were 

 seldom more than two males that seemed to be taking part in building the nests 

 and bringing up the young birds. Sometimes two females gave their attention 

 to one apartment, and it seemed probable that they were using a single nest, 

 as is common with some of the domestic fowls. 



At first, the diet of the fledglings is made up of the common catch that is 



