PURPLE MARTIN. 341 
would be a crime. A careful watch has revealed the fact beyond doubt that the House 
Sparrow destroys the eggs of the Martin by eating them up without leaving even a 
trace behind. Six nests were thus destroyed, with from four to six eggs in each. The 
Martins had defended their nests successfully until the cool period about the middle of 
May, when the scarcity of winged insects caused them to go far from home and to stay 
away long. This absence from their nests enabled the Sparrows to enter the boxes and 
to eat the eggs. 
“In one case the Sparrow was hindered from proceeding farther than drilling holes 
(%4 by %& inch), through which he probably intended to empty the contents of the eggs 
and then finish by eating the shells. In the other cases the eggs disappeared without 
leaving any traces. Only in one case did the Sparrows begin to build in the box; in all 
other cases the nests were left undisturbed. 
“The Martins watch their treasures well enough during the morning hours, but 
in the afternoon, especially in cool or dry weather, they like to go off for a hunt and 
to stay away for severdl hours. This is the time when the Sparrows sneak into the 
boxes, and it requires constant vigilance on our part to keep them off and to save the 
eggs (eighty-five contained in the boxes to-day). 
“As long as eight years ago, seeing that the House Sparrow became irrepressible, 
I tried to compromise with him by putting up separate boxes for his special use, giving 
him to understand that he would be tolerated there, but nowhere else. This plan 
seemed to work well, hut for a short time only, and I soon found that the only way 
to deal with them was to destroy. their nests and young ones. 
“Last spring, being much warmer than this year, was favorable for the Martins; 
they ‘could stay about home nearly all the time, and it really seemed as if they had 
learned to be more effective in the defense and repulse. But this cool spring showed me 
that the Martin is too much dependent on the weather to be a successful defender of 
its home, and the verdict is, therefore, that the House Sparrow will no longer be 
tolerated on iny grounds, and that it will be destroyed without mercy, by any means, 
and at every time of the year, not merely in spring as heretofore.” (Saint Louis, Mo., 
June 2, 1888.) 
In the South many broods are destroyed by the very abundant tree clitnbing 
snakes, which enter the breeding-boxes during the night. On its wings the Martin is a 
bold and courageous bird, “prompt to meet and repel danger,” especially when Hawks, 
Crows, and other winged enemies enter its domain. It never hesitates to attack and 
drive them-away from its neighborhood, often in company with Kingbirds. . Like the 
last named species, it, therefore, is a valuable protection to the barn yard, as no Hawk 
dares to come near its domain. ,Its food consists of all kinds of flying insects, and in 
destroying them it again does good service to the gardener, farmer, and fruit-grower. 
In cold and rainy weather I have often observed Martins sweeping and touching the 
branches of apple trees to dislodge insects. As it only captures its prey in the air, a 
number of cold and rainy days are very detrimental to the welfare of our birds, and 
often many perish by cold and hunger during the changeable days of May. 
The Martin’s flight is exceedingly swift and beautiful, and its twittering song is 
very loud and mellow, and, to my ear, very sweet and charming. 
a 
