160 Bird - Lore 



of the young birds. These were all tinged with blue on the back and crown, and 

 the mottling of the breast was a soft gray, rather than the brown of the female 

 parent. The wedge of black which widens back of the eye was clearly marked 

 in the young bird and, with the ring or crescent of pale gray curving about 

 the side of the neck, made an excellent field mark to distinguish young from 

 adult. 



On the ground or nest ledge the Martins were far from graceful; they 

 shuffled about with crest feathers elevated, head drawn back, and breast 

 swelled out, strutting like Pouter Pigeons. 



Twice I saw the Martins attack Hawks. Once a few birds flew at a Marsh 

 Hawk and, aided by a Kingbird, drove him off in short order; the other time, 

 when a Cooper's Hawk flew near, every available Martin turned out with a 

 great clamor and made for him. The Hawk alighted in a tree, whereupon the 

 whole body of Martins towered in the air, sounding their loud call, until the 

 Hawk made off, pursued and attacked from above by the whole troop. The 

 elder Mr. Dunlop told me that once a "Yellow-tailed Hawk," pestered by the 

 Martins, had sought shelter in the parlor. He would back the Martins, he 

 said, against any Eagle living. 



During the day, those of the young birds whose nests opened on a piazza 

 crawled through the doorway and met their parents on the ledge outside. 

 This precociousness of a young bird was encouraged by the old ones, who, after 

 feeding him, shuffled about, endeavoring to edge themselves between him and 

 the house, and urged him to fly by trying to push him from the ledge. The 

 young birds, however, timidly backed into a corner or took refuge in a nest — 

 sometimes their own, sometimes that of a neighbor. Often between the parents' 

 visits a young bird ventured out of his hole and, after waddling about the 

 ledge, entered the nest next door. Whether when not at home he was fed by 

 his hosts I could not determine, but this wandering about from nest to nest 

 indicates a lessening of family unity — a natural result of communal life. The 

 concern which the old birds showed in the first flights of the young indicates, 

 too, that the interest of a pair is not confined to their own brood. When a 

 young bird had been pushed from the box, or, of his own accord attempted a 

 flight, the adults — most of those about the house, apparently — swooped about 

 the little one, calling loudly and encouraging him to continue — indeed, by 

 their actions making it difficult for him to return to the box until he had 

 accomplished a long flight. 



At the close of the day all the Martins gathered about the house, feeding 

 their young until dusk. Then they entered their nests and quieted down for 

 the night; but sometimes, long after dark, fluttering sounds, or a soft twitter 

 came from the house, where more than a hundred Martins were sleeping. 



