416 SWALLOWS 
KEY TO THE SPECIES 
1. Upperparts with metallic reflections. 
. Underparts steel-blue. 
a. Feathers on the belly fuscous at the base 611. PurpLe Marrin ¢. 
b. Feathers on the belly white at the base . 611.1. CuBan MarrTIN 2. 
B. Underparts not steel-blue. 
a. Throat chestnut, rufous, or brownish. 
a. Upper tail-coverts the same as the back; tail with white spots. 
13. Barn SwaLLow. 
a®, Upper tail-coverts rufous or buffy; no baie) ie the tail. 
. Curr Swallow. 
b. Throat gray or white. 
bt. Entire underparts white . . . » 614. Tran SwatLow. 
b2. Throat and breast brownish eray . . 611. Purpte MarrtIN 9. 
v3. Throat, breast, and sides sooty brownish gray 
611.1 CuBAN Martin @. 
2. Upperparts without metallic precnons: 
a. Underparts entirely white . . . . 614. Tree Swattow. 
b. Throat and breast brownish gray F * 617. RovuGH-WINGED SWALLOW. 
c. Throat and belly white; a brownish gray a across the breast. 
616. Bank Swa.Low. 
611. Progne subis subis (Linn.). PuRPLE Martin. Ad. ¢.—Shining 
blue-black; wings and tail duller. Im. 7 in winter. —Resembles the g. Im. a 
in summer.—Similar to 9, but bluer above and with a number of adult blue 
feathers scattered through underparts. The ad. ¢ plumage is acquired at 
the first postnuptial molt. Ad. ¢ .—Upperparts glossy bluish black, duller 
than in the 7; wings and tail black; throat, breast, and sides brownish gray, 
more or less tipped with white; belly white. L., 8°00; W., 5°80; T., 2°90; 
B. from N., 
Range. ”_N. and 8. A., except the Pacific coast region. Breeds from w. 
cen. Alberta, s. Sask., cen. Man., nw. Ont., N. B., and N.S., w. to Mont- 
and Idaho, and s. to the Gulf coast, Fla., Vera Cruz and Jalisco; win- 
ters in Brazil; accidental in Bermuda and the British Isles. 
Washington, rather common §. R., Apl. 1-Sept. 14. Ossining, tolerably 
common §. R., Apl. 27-Sept. 11. Cambridge, formerly locally common S. R., 
Apl. 20-Aug. 25. N, Ohio, common §. R., Apl. 1-Sept. 5. Glen Ellyn, local 
S. R., Mch. 23-Sept. 10. SE. Minn., common 8. R., Apl. 1-Sept. 9. 
MN est, of straws, twigs, etc., in houses or gourds erected for the purpose. 
Eggs, 4-5, white, 1:00 x ‘73. Date, Tarboro, N. C., May 19; Cambridge, 
May 30; St. Louis, Mo., May 21. 
The Purple Martin is very common throughout the south, and 
breeds wherever gourds or boxes are erected for its occupation. In 
the Northern States it is a comparatively rare bird of local distribution. 
In Forest and Stream, Vol. XXII, 1884, p. 484, Mr. Otto Widmann, of 
Old Orchard, Missouri, presents an interesting table showing how often 
young Martins are fed. He watched a colony of sixteen pairs of birds 
from 4 a.m. to 8 P.m., during which time the parents visited their off- 
spring 3,277 times, or an average of 205 times for each pair. The males 
made 1,454, the females 1,823 visits. 
1903. Haine: J. W. (Waynesburg, Pa.), The Story of a Martin Colony 
(methods of attracting, etc.).—1906. Taverner, P. A., Wilson Bull., 
XVIII, 87-92 (roost). 
611.1. Progne cryptoleuca Baird. Cusan Martin. Ad. 7.—‘‘Similar 
to P. subis, but feathers of ventral region marked beneath surface, with 
