PURPLE MAR TIN. j 5 3 



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 

 colour ; 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. 



PUKPLE MAET1N. {Hirundo purpurea.) 



PLATE XXXIX.— Fig. 2, Male; Fig. 3, Female. 



Lath. Syn. iv. p. 574, 21 ; Ibid. iv. p. 575, 23. —Catesb. Car. i. 51. — Arct. Zool. 

 ii. No. 333.— Hirondelle bleu de la Caroline, Buff. vi. p. 674, PL enl. 722.— 

 Le Martinet couleur de pourpre, Buff. vi. p. 676. — Turt. Syst. 629. — Edw. 

 120. — Hirundo subis, Lath. iv. p. 575, 24,—Peale's Museum, Nos. 7645, 

 7646. 



HIRUNDO PURPUREA.— Linnaeus.* 



Hirundo purpurea, Bonap. Synop. p. 64. — North. Zool. ii. p. 335. — The Purple 

 Martin, Aud. Om. Biog. i. p. 114, pi. 22, male and female. 



This well-known bird is a general inhabitant of the United 

 States, and a particular favourite wherever he takes up his 



* 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, particularly the bill, to an extraordinary extent. 

 The bill is very nearly that of a Procnias or Ptiliogonys ; but the economy 

 of the bird presents no affinity to the berry-eaters ; and the only differ- 

 ence in its feeding seems the preference to larger beetles, wasps, or bees, 

 which its strength enables it to despatch without any danger to itself. 



This bird exclusively belongs to the New World, and its migrations 

 have a very extensive range. It makes its first appearance at Great 

 Bear Lake on the 17th May, at which time the snow still partially 

 covers the ground, and the rivers and lakes are fast bound in ice. In 

 the middle of August, it retires again with its young brood from the 

 Fur Countries. In a southern direction, Mr Swainson observed num- 

 bers round Pernambuco, 85 degrees south of the line. They migrate 

 in flocks, and at a very slow rate. The account of Mr Audubon, 



