12 



cabins of the southern negroes. In Washington the columns of the public buildings, 

 and" the eaves and sheltered portions of the piazzas, afford a convenient protection to 

 large numbers around the Patent Office and the Post Office buildings. The abundance of 

 this species varies in different parts of the country, from causes not always apparent. In 

 the vicinity of Boston it is quite unusual, though said to have been forty years since 

 quite common. There its place is taken by the H. bicolor, which occupies almost 

 exclusively the Martin-houses, and very rarely builds in hollow trees. 



" Sir John Richardson states that it arrives within the Arctic Circle earlier than 

 any other of its family. It made its first appearance at Great Bear Lake as early as the 

 17th of May, when the ground was covered with snow, and the rivers and lakes were all 

 ice-bound. 



" In the Southern States it is said to raise three broods in a season ; in its more 

 northern distribution it raises but one. Their early migrations expose the Martins to 

 severe exposure and suffering from changes of weather, in which large numbers have 

 been known to perish. An occurrence of this kind is said to have taken place in Eastern 

 Massachusetts, where nearly all the birds of this species were destroyed, and where to 

 this day their places have never been supplied. 



" Within its selected compartment the Martin prepares a loose and irregular nest. 

 This is composed of various materials, such as fine dry leaves, straws, stems of grasses, 

 fine twigs, bits of string, rags, &c. These are carelessly thrown together, and the whole 

 is usually w r armly lined with feathers or other soft materials. This nest is occupied year 

 after year by the same pair, but after each new brood the nest is thoroughly repaired, 

 and often increased in size by the accumulation of new materials. 



" The Martins do not winter in the United States, but enter the extreme southern 

 portions early in February. Audubon states that they arrive often in prodigious flocks. 

 On the Ohio their advent is about the 15th of March, and in Missouri, Ohio, and Penn- 

 sylvania about the 10th of April. About Boston their appearance is from the 25th of 

 April to the middle of May. Mr. Audubon states they all return to the Southern States 

 about the 20th of August, but this is hardly correct. Their departure varies very much 

 with the season. In the fall of 1870 they were to be found in large flocks, slowly moving 

 southward, but often remaining several days at a time at the same place, and then pro- 

 ceeding to their next halt. Their favourite places for such spots are usually a high and 

 uninhabited hillside near the sea. 



" The Martin is a bold and courageous bird, prompt to meet and repel clangers, 

 especially wdren threatened by winged enemies, never hesitating to attack and drive them 

 away from its neighbourhood. It is therefore a valuable protection to the barnyard. 

 Its food is the larger kind of insects, especially beetles, in destroying which it does good 

 service to the husbandman. The song of the Martin is a succession of twitters, which, 

 without being musical, are far from being unpleasant ; they begin with the earliest 

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



