PURPLE MARTIN. 365 
The Chimney Swallow is easily distinguished; in air from the rest 
of its tribe here, by its long wings, its short body, the quick and slight 
vibrations of its wings, and its wide unexpected diving rapidity of 
flight ; shooting swiftly in various directions without any apparent 
motion of the wings, and uttering the sounds ésip tsip tsip tsee tsee in 
~ a hurried manner. In roosting, the thorny extremities of its tail are 
thrown in for its support. It is never seen to. alight but in hollow 
trees or chimneys ; is always most gay and active in wet and gloomy 
weather ; and is the earliest abroad in the morning, and latest out in 
evening, of all our Swallows. About the first or second week in Sep- 
tember, they move off to the south, being often observed on their route, 
accompanied by the Purple Martins. ; 
When we compare the manners of these’ birds, while here, with the 
account given by Captain Henderson of those that winter in such 
multitudes at Honduras, it is impossible not to be struck with the 
resemblance, or to suppress our strong suspicions that they may prob- 
ably be the very same. d 
This species is four inches and a half in length, and twelve inches 
in extent; altogether of a deep sooty brown, except the chin and 
line over the eye, which are of a dull white; the lores, as in all the 
_ rest, are black ; bill extremely short, hard, and black; nostrils, placed 
ina slightly elevated membrane; legs, covered with a loose purplish 
skin ; thighs, naked and of the same tint; feet, extremely muscular; 
the three fore toes, nearly of a length; claws, very sharp; the wing, 
when closed, extends an inch and a half beyond the tip of the tail, 
which is rounded, and consists of ten feathers, scarcely longer than 
their coverts; their shafts extend beyond the vanes, are sharp-pointed, 
strong, and very elastic, and of a deep black color; the shafts of the 
wing-quills are also remarkably strong; eye, black, surrounded by a 
bare blackish skin, or orbit. 
The female can scarcely be distinguished from the male by her 
plumage. ; 
' —_——_~—__ 
PURPLE MARTIN.—HIRUNDO PURPUREA. —Fte. 167, Matz; 
Fic. 168, Femare. 
Lath. Syn. iv. p. 574, 21. Ibid. iv. p. 575, 23.—Catesb. Car. i. 51.— Arct. Zool. 
ii, No. 333.— Hirondelle blue de Ja Caroline, Buff. vi. p. 674. Pl. end. 722.— 
Le Martinet couleur de pourpre, Buff. vi. p. 676.— Lurt. Syst. 629.— Edw. 
120. — Hirundo subis, Lath. iv. p. 575, 24. — Peale’s Museum, Nos. 7645, 7646. 
HIRUNDO PURPUREA. — Lixnxvs.* 
Hirundo purpurea, Bonap. Synop. p. 64.— North. Zoo]. ii. p. 335. — The Purple 
Martin, Aud. Orn. Biog. i. p. 114, pl. 22, male and female. 
Tas well-known bird is a general inhabitant of the United States, 
and a particular favorite wherever he takes up his abode. I never met 
* This bird, at first sight, almost, presents a different appearance from a Swallow ; 
but, upon examination, all the members are truly that of Hirundo, developed, par- 
31* 
