Chapter C: S. Paine, of East Bethel, Vt., found a nest of this species about (12)

Another nest found in June, 1864, by the same observing naturalist, was also obtained in the neighborhood. This was built in a tussock of meadow-grass, in the midst of a small boggy piece of swamp, in which were a few scattered trees and bushes. The ground was so marshy that it could be crossed only with difficulty, and by stepping from one tussock of reedy herbage to another. In the centre of one of these bunches the nest was concealed. It measures six inches in its larger diameter, and has a height of two and a quarter inches. The cavity of this nest is two and three quarters inches wide, and one and three quarters deep. It is very strongly constructed of pine-needles, interwoven with fine strips of bark, dry deciduous leaves, stems of dry grasses, sedges, etc. The whole is firmly and compactly interwoven with and strengthened around the rim of the cavity by strong, wiry, and fibrous roots. The nest is very carefully and elaborately lined with the black fibrous roots of some plant. The eggs, which were five in number, measure .72 of an inch in length by .56 in breadth. Their ground-color is a clear and brilliant white, and this is beautifully marked with dots and small blotches of blended brown, purple, and violet, varying in shades and tints, and grouped in a wreath around the larger end.

GENUS SETOPHAGA, SWAINS.

_Setophaga_, SWAINSON, Zoöl. Jour. III, Dec. 1827, 360. (Type,
_Muscicapa ruticilla_, L.)—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 297.
_Sylvania_, NUTTALL, Man. Orn. I, 1832. (Same type.)

[Line drawing: _Setophaga ruticilla_, SW.]

GEN. CHAR. Bill much depressed, the lateral outlines straight towards tip. Bristles reach half-way from nostril to tip. Culmen almost straight to near the tip; commissure very slightly curved. Nostrils oval, with membrane above them. Wings rather longer than tail, pointed; second, third, and fourth quills nearly equal; first intermediate between fourth and fifth. Tail rather long, rather rounded; the feathers broad, and widening at ends, the outer web narrow. Tarsi with scutellar divisions indistinct externally. Legs slender; toes short, inner cleft nearly to base of first joint, outer with first joint adherent; middle toe without claw, not quite half the tarsus.

The genus _Setophaga_ is very largely represented in America, although of the many species scarcely any agree exactly in form with the type. In the following diagnosis I give several species, referred to, perhaps erroneously, as occurring in Texas.

Belly white. End of lateral tail-feathers black. Sexes
dissimilar.

Ground-color black, without vertex spot. Sides of breast and
bases of quills and tail-feathers reddish-orange in male,
yellowish in female … _ruticilla_.

Belly vermilion or carmine red. Lateral tail-feathers,
including their tips, white. Sexes similar.

Entirely lustrous black, including head and neck. No vertex
spot. A white patch on the wings … _picta_.[60]

Plumbeous-ash, including head and neck. A chestnut-brown
vertex spot. No white on wings … _miniata_.[61]

Setophaga ruticilla, SWAINS.

AMERICAN REDSTART.

_Motacilla ruticilla_, LINN. Syst. Nat. 10th ed. 1758, 186 (Catesby,
Car. tab. 67). _Muscicapa ruticilla_, LINN.; GMELIN;
VIEILLOT; WILS.; BON.; AUD. Orn. Biog. I, pl. xl. _Setophaga
rut._ SWAINS. Zoöl. Jour. III, 1827, 358.—BON.; AUD. Birds
Am.—SCLATER, P. Z. S. (Ecuador, Bogota, Cordova, Oaxaca, City
of Mexico).—SCLATER & SALVIN, Ibis, 1859, 12
(Guatemala).—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 297; Rev. 256.—MAX.;
SALLÉ, P. Z. S. 1857 (St. Domingo).—NEWTON, Ibis, 1859, 143
(St. Croix; winter).—CAB. Jour. 1856, 472 (Cuba); 1860, 325
(Costa Rica).—GUNDLACH, IB. 1861, 326 (Cuba).—BRYANT, Pr.
Bost. Soc. VII, 1859 (Bahamas).—LAWRENCE, Ann. N. Y. Lyc.
1861, 322 (Panama R. R.).—SAMUELS, 249. _Sylvania rut._
NUTTALL, Man. I, 1832, 291 (type of genus). _Motacilla
flavicauda_, GMELIN, I, 1788, 997 (♀).

1. Setophaga ruticilla, _Linn._ ♂ Pa., 984.
2. Myiodioctes minutus, _Aud._ (Copied from Aud.)
3. “ pusillus, _Wils._ ♂ Cal., 7683.
4. “ “ “ ♀ Pa., 2325.
5. Setophaga ruticilla, _Linn._ ♀ Pa., 2281.
6. Myiodioctes canadensis, _Linn._ ♂ Pa., 945.
7. Progne subis, _Linn._ ♀ 40704.
8. Tachycineta bicolor, _Vieill._ ♂ Pa., 2896.
9. Hirundo horreorum, _Bart._ ♂ Pa., 1452.
10. Progne subis, _Linn._ ♂.
11. Tachycineta thalassina, _Swains._ ♂ Oreg., 1895.
12. Stelgidopteryx serripennis, _Aud._ ♂ 32269.
13. Petrochelidon lunifrons, _Say._ ♂ 6622.
14. Cotyle riparia, _Linn._ ♂ 20641.]

SP. CHAR. _Male._ Prevailing color black. A central line on the breast, the abdomen, and under tail-coverts white; some feathers in the latter strongly tinged with dark brown. Bases of all the quills except the inner and outer, and basal half of all the tail-feathers except the middle one, a patch on each side of the breast, and the axillary region, orange-red, of a vermilion shade on the breast. _Female_ with the black replaced by olive-green above, by brownish-white beneath, the red replaced by yellow; the head tinged with ash; a grayish-white lore and ring round the eye. Length, 5.25; wing, 2.50; tail, 2.45.

HAB. Eastern and in part Middle Provinces of North America to Fort Simpson, west to Great Salt Lake; Fort Laramie; Denver City; most of the West Indies; Mexico to Ecuador.

The young male in early autumn greatly resembles in plumage the adult female, but has the upper tail-coverts and tail deep black, sharply contrasted with the olive of the rump, instead of having the upper tail-coverts olive, the tail simply dusky; in addition the back is more greenish-olive, and the abdomen and crissum pure white. The male does not obtain the perfect adult plumage until about the third year.

HABITS. The so-called Redstart has an extended distribution from the Atlantic to the Rocky Mountains, and from Florida to high northern latitudes, having been found breeding at Fort Simpson by Mr. Ross, and at Fort Resolution by Mr. Kennicott and Mr. Lockhart. It is generally abundant in suitable localities, and probably breeds wherever found north of the Potomac. It winters in large numbers in Guatemala and in other parts of Central America, as well as in the West Indies. It is common in St. Croix in the spring, and is especially seen about houses, according to Newton. It remains there until the end of April.

Richardson found this species abundant on the Saskatchewan, as far to the north as the fifty-eighth parallel. It appeared there the last of May, and left early in September. He found it frequenting moist, shady lands, flitting about among the moss-grown and twisted stems of the tall willows that skirt the marshes. It was easily recognized by the red lining of its wings as it flitted through the gloomy shades in pursuit of mosquitoes and other winged insects.

Among the memoranda of the late Mr. Kennicott, we find two to the effect that on the 26th of May he found both males and females of this species common near Rainy Lake, and that on the 6th of June he also observed these birds near Lake Winnepeg. June 14, at Fort Resolution, he obtained a female Redstart with nest and four eggs. The nest was built in the fork of a willow, in a thick but low wood of alder and willow. It was entirely unprotected by leaves or branches. The female was taken on the nest.

The Newtons found this a very common species in St. Croix, in the spring of the year, and it was especially seen about houses. For about a week, at the end of April, 1857, they were extremely numerous. On their return from their summer quarters, they were first observed September 6. Mr. Taylor also mentions them as common in Trinidad. Mr. Ridgway found it a common species among the willow thickets of the river valleys, west as far as the Great Salt Lake.

This species, in its spring and autumnal migrations, is abundant in Louisiana and Texas, as well as in the Gulf States. Wilson speaks of meeting with it in the then “Mississippi Territory.” Audubon gives it as abundant in Louisiana, and Nuttall as found throughout Louisiana and Arkansas into Mexico. Mr. Dresser also mentions it as very common near San Antonio in the spring and autumn, arriving on the Medina the 27th of April.

Dr. Coues says that the Redstart near Washington is chiefly a spring and autumnal visitant, and but very few remain to breed. In the spring it is very abundant from April 25 to May 20, and in the fall from the 1st to the 20th of September, in all woody and swampy situations. He found it in the habit of running along slender twigs, sideways, and having a note very similar to that of _D. œstiva_.

Although placed among the _Oscines_, where, as an excellent singer, it clearly has a good right to be classed, it is yet also a true Flycatcher in habits and manners. It is a lively, active bird, ever on the wing, and continually in pursuit of insects. In this pursuit it never awaits the approach of its prey, but, espying them at a distance, darts with great velocity in pursuit, and the continued clicks of its bill attest the rapidity and frequency with which it will overtake and catch insect after insect. Even when lamenting the loss of a part of its brood, and flying around with cries of distress, the sight of passing insects is a temptation not to be resisted, and the parent bird will stop her lamentations to catch small flies.

Its notes are a varied twitter, rather than a song, a repetition of two simple notes, uttered every few seconds as it seeks its prey, flying among the thick foliage usually in dense groves. Its common habit is to glide along a branch, between its smaller twigs, at times darting forth into more open spaces in quest of insects it has espied.

Their nests are usually, though not always, built in a low branch, eight or ten feet from the ground, in the midst of a thick grove. I have known it to build in an open field and in close proximity to a dwelling. It keeps to groves and thickets, and frequents moist places rather than dry, evidently because of the greater abundance of insects, and not because of timid or retiring habits. It is indeed far from being timid, and will permit a near approach without any exhibitions of uneasiness. When its nest is visited, the male bird manifests great disturbance, and flies back and forth around the head of the intruder with cries of distress. The female is far less demonstrative, and even when her nest is despoiled before her eyes is quite moderate in the expression of her grief.

Its flight is graceful, easy, and rapid, varied by circumstances as it glides in its intricate course among small interlacing branches, or darts rapidly forth into more open space. As it moves, it is continually opening out, closing, or flirting from side to side its conspicuous tail, the white spots in its expanded feathers constantly appearing and disappearing.

In the construction of the nest there is a general uniformity of character, although the materials differ and the localities are far apart. They are never pendent, but are placed among three or more small upright branches, around which it is firmly woven with vegetable flax-like fibres. A nest obtained in Lynn, by Mr. George O. Welch (S. I. 3,778), in June, measures two inches in height by three in diameter. It is a small, compact, and homogeneous nest, composed almost entirely of shreds of savin-bark intermixed with soft vegetable wool. Within are loosely intertwined minute vegetable fibres and strips of bark, and a lining of horsehair, fine pine leaves, and dry grasses. The nest contained four eggs. Another nest found in Grand Menan, June 24, 1851, was very similar in size, structure, and materials. It was in the centre of a thick, swampy thicket, five feet from the ground, and contained five eggs.

Another nest of this bird, obtained in Lynn by Mr. Welch, is only a reconstruction of a nest begun by a pair of _Dendroica œstiva_, and either abandoned by them, or from which they had been driven. Above the original nest of the Warbler the Redstarts had constructed their own. The base is composed of the downy covering of the under sides of the leaves of ferns, mixed with a few herbaceous stems and leaves. Within this was built an entirely distinct nest, composed of long and slender strips of bark, pine-needles, and stems of grasses. These are firmly and elaborately interwoven together.

A nest found in Hingham, built in a tree in an open space near a dwelling, was seven feet from the ground, and of the usual size and shape. In this the more usual strips of bark were replaced by hempen fibres of vegetables, thistle-down, bits of newspaper, and other fragments. Within is a strong lining of hair and fine stems of grasses. In this nest there were two young, about half fledged, and two eggs nearly fresh. The latter were taken, the female parent being present and making only a very slight protest, stopping, from time to time, to catch insects.

The eggs of the Redstart vary considerably in their size and in their general appearance, but resemble somewhat those of the common Summer Yellow-Bird. They vary in length from .55 to .68 of an inch, and in their breadth from .45 to .53. Their ground-color is a grayish-white, blotched and clotted with purple, lilac, and brown.

FAMILY HIRUNDINIDÆ.—THE SWALLOWS.

CHAR. Bill short, triangular, very broad at base (nearly as wide as long) and much depressed, narrowing rapidly to a compressed, notched tip; mouth opening nearly to the eyes. Primaries nine, graduating rapidly less from the exterior one; tail-feathers twelve. Feet weak; tarsi scutellate, shorter than middle toe and claw. Number of joints in toes normal; basal joint of middle toe partially or entirely adherent to lateral toes. Wings long, falcate. Tail forked. Eyes small. Plumage compact, usually lustrous. All the American species with a white patch on the sides under the wing, and with the irids hazel or brown.

The _Hirundinidæ_ form a very well marked group of birds easily distinguished from all others. They exhibit a close resemblance, in external appearance and habits, to the _Cypselidæ_; from which, apart from the internal structure, they are readily distinguished by the possession of nine, instead of ten primaries; twelve, instead of ten tail-feathers; scutellate tarsi, toes with normal number of joints (1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively, exclusive of ungual phalanges), instead of a different proportion; differently shaped nostrils, etc. In both families the wings are developed to an extraordinary degree; the outer primary nearly twice or more than twice the length of the inner, and enabling its possessor to sustain flight almost indefinitely. The relations of the family among the _Oscines_ appear closest to the Old World _Muscicapidæ_.

In comparing the wings of the _Hirundinidæ_ with those of the _Cypselidæ_ we readily notice one of the essential characters of the _Oscines_, namely, that the greater wing-coverts hide only half or less than half of the secondary quills, instead of reaching much beyond their middle, or nearly to the end. (See Sundevall, Ornith. Syst.)

The precise character of scutellation of tarsus is somewhat difficult to make out, owing to a tendency to fusion of the plates, although not essentially different from most _Oscines_. There is a series of scutellæ along the anterior face of the tarsus, and a longitudinal plate on each side, meeting, but not coalescing, behind. The anterior scutellæ sometimes appear to fuse into the outer lateral plate; or sometimes the latter is more or less subdivided; the inner plate is generally more distinct from the anterior scutellæ, and usually entire, except perhaps at the lower extremity.

Genera of North American Hirundinidæ.

A. Nostrils broadly oval, or circular; opening upwards and forward, and exposed; without overhanging membrane.

_a._ Edge of wing smooth. Tarsus short, stout; equal to middle
toe without claw; feathered on the inner side above. Nostrils
almost or entirely without membrane.

Bill stout; culmen and commissure much curved. Frontal
feathers without bristles. Tail deeply forked. Color
lustrous-black; belly and crissum sometimes white … _Progne_.

Bill rather weaker; commissure and culmen nearly straight to
near tip. Frontal feathers bristly. Tail nearly even. Throat,
rump, and crissum, and usually forehead, rufous; belly white …
_Petrochelidon_.

_b._ Edge of wing smooth. Tarsus longer than in last; equal to
middle toe and half the claw. Nostrils bordered along posterior
half by membrane, but not overhung internally. Bill very small.
Tail forked. Crissum dusky except in _Neochelidon fucata_.
Various genera and subgenera, none North American, as
_Atticora_, _Notiochelidon_, _Neochelidon_, and _Pygochelidon_.

_c._ Edge of wing armed with stiff recurved hooks. Tarsus as in
preceding (tarsus and toes much as in _Pygochelidon_). Bill
larger and more depressed. Tail emarginate only. Crissum white …
_Stelgidopteryx_.

B. Nostrils lateral; bordered behind and inside, or overhung by membrane, the outer edge of which is straight, and directed either parallel with axis of bill or diverging from it.

_a._ Tarsus short; about equal to middle toe without claw.
Tibial joint feathered; feathers extending along inside of
upper end of tarsus.

Tarsus bare at lower end. Lateral claws reaching only to base
of middle.

Tail very deeply forked, much longer than closed wings;
lateral feathers linear and very narrow at end, twice the
length of central. Upper parts and pectoral collar
steel-blue; front and throat, sometimes under parts,
rufous. Tail-feathers with large spots … _Hirundo_.

Tail with shallow fork, not exceeding half an inch, shorter
than closed wings. Feathers broad. Color blue or green
above, with or without white rump; white beneath.
Tail-feathers without spots … _Tachycineta_.

Tarsus with a tuft of feathers at lower end. Lateral claws
lengthened, reaching beyond base of middle claw.

Tail slightly forked. Color dull-brown above; beneath
white, with brown pectoral collar … _Cotyle_.

_b._ Tarsus long; equal to middle toe and half claw; entirely
bare. Tail considerably forked, about equal to closed wing.
Color green above; white beneath … _Callichelidon._[62]

GENUS PROGNE, BOIE.

_Progne_, BOIE, Isis, 1826, 971. (Type, _Hirundo purpurea_ vel
_subis_, L.)—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 314.

GEN. CHAR. Body stout. Bill robust, lengthened; lower or commissural edge of maxilla sinuated, decidedly convex for basal half, then as concave to the tip, the lower mandible falling within its chord. Nostrils superior, broadly open, and nearly circular, without any adjacent membrane, the edges rounded. Legs stout. Tarsus equal to middle toe without claw; the joint feathered; lateral toes about equal; the basal joint of the middle toe half free internally, rather less so externally. Claws strong, much curved. Nest in hollow trees. Eggs white.

The species of this genus are the most powerful and robust of the Swallows. Some are entirely glossy-black, others whitish below. The following diagnosis will show the relationship of the several forms usually recognized as distinct species:—

Species and Varieties.

P. subis. Above lustrous blue-black; beneath lustrous blue-black or brownish-gray, uniform, or with the abdomen and crissum white, or whitish. Females always with the throat and jugulum gray.

A. Adult males entirely steel-blue.

_a._ Females and young males with the abdomen pure white.

_Feathers about the anus smoky-gray beneath the surface._

Wing about 6.00; fork of tail, .80 deep. ♀ and _Juv._
Abdominal and crissal feathers always with dusky shafts, and
with the concealed portion grayish. Forehead and nape hoary
grayish. _Hab._ Continental North America, south into
Northern Mexico … var. _subis_.

Wing, 5.25; fork of tail considerably less. ♀ and _Juv._
unknown. _Hab._ Galapagos … var. _concolor_.[63]

Wing, 5.80; fork of tail, 1.10 deep. ♀ and _Juv._ unknown.
_Hab._ Chili … var. _furcata_.[64]

_Feathers about the anus snowy-white beneath the surface._

Wing. 5.50; fork of tail, .90 deep. ♀ and _juv._ Abdominal
and crissal feathers entirely snowy-white,—never with dusky
shafts (except ♂ _juv._ in transition). Forehead dusky
grayish-brown; nape steel-blue. _Hab._ Cuba and Florida Keys …
var. _cryptoleuca_.

_b._ Females and young with the abdomen dusky grayish-brown.

Wing, 5.50; fork of tail, .80. ♀. Lower parts dusky
grayish-brown, the feathers bordered with lighter grayish,
producing a squamate appearance. _Juv._ similar, but feathers
of the upper parts bordered with whitish. _Hab._ Paraguay
(Vermejo River) … var. _elegans_.[65]

B. Adult males with the abdomen and crissum pure white.

_a._ Lower tail-coverts with the shafts pure white. ♂ (adult)
with the throat, jugulum, and sides steel-blue.

♀ and _juv._ scarcely distinguishable from those of
_cryptoleuca_. _Hab._ Porto Rico and Jamaica (St. Domingo
also?) … var. _dominicensis_.[66]

_b._ Lower tail-coverts with their shafts dusky. ♂ (adult) with
throat, jugulum, and sides brownish-gray.

Sides of the jugulum with a blue-black patch in the ♂. Wing,
5.50; fork of tail, .70 deep. _Hab._ Bolivia …
var. _domestica_.[67]

Sides of the jugulum without a blue-black patch in the ♂.
Wing, 5.20; fork of tail, .55 deep. _Hab._ Middle America,
from Southern Mexico to New Granada … var. _leucogaster_.[68]

Progne subis, BAIRD.

PURPLE MARTIN.

_Hirundo subis_, LINN. S. N. 10th ed. 1758, 192 (_Hirundo cœrulea
canadensis_, EDWARDS, Av. tab. 120, Hudson’s Bay). _Progne subis_,
BAIRD, Rev. Am. Birds, 1864, 274. _H. purpurea_, LINN. S. N. 12th
ed. 1766, 344 (_H. purpurea_, CATESBY, Car. tab. 51).—AUD. Orn.
Biog. I, pl. xxiii.—IB. Birds Am. I, pl. xlv.—YARRELL, Br. Birds,
II, 232, 274 (England and Ireland, Sept. 1842).—JONES, Nat.
Bermuda, 34 (Sept. 22, 1849). _Progne purpurea_, BOIE, Isis, 1826,
971.—BREWER, N. Am. Ool. I, 1857, 103, pl. iv, fig. 47
(eggs).—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 314.—COOPER & SUCKLEY, P. R. R.
Rep. XII, 2, 186 (Fort Steilacoom).—BLAKISTON, Ibis, 1863, 65
(Saskatchewan)—COOPER, Orn. Cal. 1, 1870, 113.—SAMUELS, 260.
_Hirundo violacea_, GM. _H. cœrulea_, VIEILL. _H. versicolor_,
VIEILL. _H. ludoviciana_, CUV.

[Line drawing: _Progne subis._
1561]

SP. CHAR. (No. 1,561 ♂.) Entirely lustrous steel-blue, with a purplish gloss; the tail-feathers and the wings, except the lesser and middle coverts, and edge inside, dull black scarcely glossed. Tibiæ dark brownish. A concealed patch of white on the sides under the wings. Concealed central portion of anal feathers light whitish-gray.

(No. 1,129 ♀.) Above somewhat similar, but much duller. Beneath smoky brownish-gray, without lustre, paler behind, and becoming sometimes quite whitish on belly and crissum, but all the feathers always with dusky shafts, and more or less clouded with gray centrally, even though fading into whitish to the edges. This is particularly appreciable in the longer crissal feathers. The edges of the dark feathers of throat and jugulum are usually paler, imparting somewhat of a lunulated appearance, their centres sometimes considerably darker, causing an appearance of obsolete spots. There is a tendency to a grayish collar on sides of neck, and generally traceable to the nape; this, in one specimen (5,492) from California, being hoary gray, the forehead similar.

The young male of the second year is similar to the female, with the steel-blue appearing in patches.

Total length (of 1,561), 7.50; wing, 6.00; tail, 3.40; difference between inner and outer feather, .75; difference between first and ninth quills, 2.88; length of bill from forehead, .55; from nostril, .34; along gape, .94; width of gape, .74; tarsus, .61; middle toe and claw, .80; claw alone, .25; hind toe and claw, .54; claw alone, .27.

HAB. The whole of the United States and the Provinces; Saskatchewan; Cape St. Lucas and Northern Mexico (winter); Orizaba (SUMICHRAST); Bermuda. Accidental in England. South American and West Indian birds apparently belong to other races.

Many Western adult males are considerably less violaceous than any Eastern one; but there is so much variation in this respect among specimens from one locality, that this difference in lustre does not seem of much importance.

An adult female (No. 61,361, G. A. Boardman) from Lake Harney, Florida, is so unlike all other specimens in the collection as to almost warrant our considering it as representing a distinct local race. It differs from females and young males of all the other races (except _elegans_, from which it differs in other striking particulars) in the following respects: Above, the lustrous steel-blue is uninterrupted, the forehead and nape being uniform with the other portions; beneath, dark smoky-gray, inclining to whitish on the middle of the abdomen; the jugulum and crissum have a faint gloss of steel-blue, the feathers of the latter bordered with grayish-white. The chief difference from _elegans_ is in lacking the conspicuous grayish-white border to the feathers of the whole lower part, the surface being uniform instead of conspicuously squamated. Wing, 5.60; tail, 3.00; fork of tail, .80 deep.

HABITS. The Purple Martin is emphatically a bird common to the whole of North America. It breeds from Florida to high northern latitudes, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific. It is very abundant in Florida, as it is in various other parts of the country farther north, and the large flocks of migrating birds of this species which pass through Eastern Massachusetts the last of September attest its equal abundance north of the latter State. It occurs in Bermuda, is resident in the alpine regions of Mexico, and is also found at Cape St. Lucas. Accidental specimens have been detected in England and in Ireland. It is abundant on the Saskatchewan. Burmeister states that this species is common in the vicinity of Rio de Janeiro, and that it is distributed in moderate abundance through the whole of tropical South America. Von Pelzeln also cites it as occurring on the Rio Negro and at Manaqueri through the three winter months, nesting in old buildings and in holes in the rocks. It is, however, quite possible that they refer to an allied but distinct species.

In a wild state the natural resort of this species, for nesting and shelter, was to hollow trees and crevasses in rocks. The introduction of civilized life, and with it of other safer and more convenient places, better adapted to their wants, has wrought an entire change in its habits. It is now very rarely known to resort to a hollow tree, though it will do so where better provision is not to be had. Comfortable and convenient boxes, of various devices, in our cities and large towns, attract them to build in small communities around the dwellings of man, where their social, familiar, and confiding disposition make them general favorites. There they find abundance of insect food, and repay their benefactors by the destruction of numerous injurious and noxious kinds, and there, too, they are also comparatively safe from their own enemies. These conveniences vary from the elegant martin-houses that adorn private grounds in our Eastern cities to the ruder gourds and calabashes which are said to be frequently placed near the humbler cabins of the Southern negroes. In Washington the columns of the public buildings, and the eaves and sheltered portions of the piazzas, afford a convenient protection to large numbers around the Patent Office and the Post-Office buildings.

The abundance of this species varies in different parts of the country, from causes not always apparent. In the vicinity of Boston it is quite unusual, though said to have been, forty years since, quite common. There their places are taken by the _H. bicolor_, who occupy almost exclusively the martin-houses, and very rarely build in hollow trees.

Sir John Richardson states that it arrives within the Arctic Circle earlier than any other of its family. It made its first appearance at Great Bear Lake as early as the 17th of May, when the ground was covered with snow, and the rivers and lakes were all icebound.

In the Southern States it is said to raise three broods in a season; in its more northern distribution it raises but one. Their early migrations expose the Martins to severe exposure and suffering from changes of weather, in which large numbers have been known to perish. An occurrence of this kind is said to have taken place in Eastern Massachusetts, where nearly all the birds of this species were destroyed, and where to this day their places have never been supplied.

Within its selected compartment the Martin prepares a loose and irregular nest. This is composed of various materials, such as fine dry leaves, straws, stems of grasses, fine twigs, bits of string, rags, etc. These are carelessly thrown together, and the whole is usually warmly lined with feathers or other soft materials. This nest is occupied year after year by the same pair, but with each new brood the nest is thoroughly repaired, and often increased in size by the accumulation of new materials.

The Martins do not winter in the United States, but enter the extreme Southern portions early in February. Audubon states that they arrive often in prodigious flocks. On the Ohio their advent is about the 15th of March, and in Missouri, Ohio, and Pennsylvania about the 10th of April. About Boston their appearance is from the 25th of April to the middle of May. Mr. Audubon states that they all return to the Southern States about the 20th of August, but this is hardly correct. Their departure varies very much with the season. In the fall of 1870 they were to be found in large flocks, slowly moving southward, but often remaining several days at a time at the same place, and then proceeding to their next halt. Their favorite places for such stops are usually a high and uninhabited hillside near the sea.

The Martin is a bold and courageous bird, prompt to meet and repel dangers, especially when threatened by winged enemies, never hesitating to attack and drive them away from its neighborhood. It is therefore a valuable protection to the barnyard. Its food is the larger kinds of insects, especially beetles, in destroying which it again does good service to the husbandman. The song of the Martin is a succession of twitters, which, without being musical, are far from being unpleasant; they begin with the earliest dawn, and during the earlier periods of incubation are almost incessantly repeated. The eggs of the Purple Martin measure .94 of an inch in length by .79 in breadth. They are of an oblong-oval shape, are pointed at one end, are of a uniform creamy-white, and are never spotted. They are quite uniform in size and shape. Eggs from Florida are proportionally smaller than those from the Northern States.

Progne subis, var. cryptoleuca, BAIRD.

CUBAN MARTIN.

_Progne cryptoleuca_, BAIRD, Rev. Am. Birds, 1864, 277. _Hirundo
purpurea_, D’ORB. Sagra’s Cuba, Ois. 1840, 94 (excl. syn.).
_Progne purpurea_, CAB. Jour. 1856, 3.—GUNDLACH, Cab. Jour. 1861.

SP. CHAR. (No. 34,242, ♂). Color much as in _P. subis_,—rich steel-blue, with purple or violet gloss; the wings and tail, however, much more decidedly glossed, and with a shade of greenish. The feathers around the anus and in the anterior portion of crissum with dark bluish down at base, pure snowy-white in the middle, and then blackish, passing into the usual steel-blue. The white is entirely concealed, and its amount and purity diminish as the feathers are more and more distant, until it fades into the usual gray median portion of the feather. The usual concealed white patch on the sides under the wings. Total length, 7.60; wing, 5.50; tail, 3.40; perpendicular depth of fork, .86; difference between first and ninth primary, 2.75; length of bill from forehead, .55; from nostril, .34; along gape, .86; width, .58; tarsus, .53; middle toe and claw, .79; claw alone, .24; hind toe and claw, .52; claw alone, .25.

_Female_ (17,730, Monte Verde, Cuba, May 2; C. Wright). Above steel-blue, less glossy than in the male, and becoming lustreless dark smoky-brown on the forehead. Head, laterally and beneath, with jugulum and sides, uniform brownish-gray (without darker shafts or lighter borders to feathers, as in _subis_); whole abdomen, anal region, and crissum snowy-white, including the shafts. Wing, 5.40; tail, 2.80; fork of tail, .70 deep.

_Young male_ (10,368, Cape Florida, May 18, 1858; G. Wurdemann). Similar to the female, but the steel-blue above more brilliant and continuous, the forehead and wings being nearly as lustrous as the back; throat and jugulum mixed with steel-blue feathers, and crissum with some feathers of steel-blue bordered with whitish. Wing. 5.40; tail, 2.90; fork of tail, .80 deep.

HAB. Cuba, and Florida Keys? (Perhaps Bahamas.)

This species has a close external resemblance to _P. subis_, for which it has usually been mistaken. It is of nearly the same size, but the feet are disproportionately smaller and weaker; while the wings are shorter, the tail is as long and more deeply forked; the feathers considerably narrower, and more attenuated (the outer .40 wide, instead of .46). The colors above are more brilliant, and extend more over the greater wing-coverts and lining of wings, while the quills and tail-feathers have a richer gloss of purplish, changing to greenish. An apparently good diagnostic feature is the concealed pure white of the feathers about the anal regions, replaced in _subis_ by grayish, rarely approximating to whitish.

A _Progne_ collected by Mr. Wright, at Monte Verde, is duller in color than that from Remedios, but has still more concealed white below, in the median portion, not only of the anal feathers, but of those of the entire crissum and of the belly. A female bird, which I presume to be the same species, can scarcely be distinguished from the female of _dominicensis_, except in the brownish shafts of the longer crissal feathers, and an almost imperceptible tinge of brownish in the webs of the same feathers. It is almost exactly like the _P. leucogaster_ of Mexico and Central America.

This species is included in the North American fauna in consequence of the capture of a specimen (No. 10,368 ♂ _juv._, May 18, 1858) at Cape Florida, which is with scarcely a doubt referable to it. This specimen is a young male in its second year, so that it is difficult to ascertain positively its relationship to the two allied species; but as it agrees perfectly in its proportions with _cryptoleuca_, and its plumage differs from the corresponding one of _subis_ in essential respects, we have little hesitation in referring it to the former.

Nothing distinctive is recorded as to the habits of this bird.

GENUS PETROCHELIDON, CABANIS.

_Petrochelidon_, CAB. Mus. Hein. 1850, 1851, 47. (Type, _Hirundo
melanogaster_, SWAINS. = _P. swainsoni_, SCL.)

[Line drawing: _Petrochelidon lunifrons._
18322]

GEN. CHAR. Bill stout and deep, somewhat as in _Progne_. Nostrils entirely superior, open, without overhanging membrane on the inner (or upper) side, but somewhat overhung by short bristles, seen also along base of inner mandible and in chin. Legs stout; the tarsi short, not exceeding the middle toe exclusive of its claw; feathered all round for basal third or fourth, though no feathers are inserted on the posterior face. Tail falling short of the closed wings, nearly square or slightly emarginate; the lateral feathers broad to near the ends, and not attenuated.

Of this genus as restricted we have but one species in North America, although several others occur in the West Indies and the southern parts of the continent. All have the back steel-blue, with concealed streaks of white; the rump, crissum, and a narrow nuchal band, and usually the forehead, chestnut.

Petrochelidon lunifrons, BAIRD.

CLIFF SWALLOW; EAVE SWALLOW.

_Hirundo lunifrons_, SAY, Long’s Exp. II, 1823, 47 (Rocky Mts.).—
CASSIN; BREWER, N. A. Ool. I, 1857, 94, pl. v, no. 68-73
(eggs).—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 309.—LAWRENCE, Ann. N. Y. Lyc.
1861, 317 (Panama R. R.; winter).—VERRILL, Pr. Bost. N. H. Soc.
1864, 276 (migration and history).—LORD, Pr. R. A. Inst. Woolwich,
IV, 1864, 16 (Br. Col.; nesting).—COOPER & SUCKLEY, P. R. R. XII,
II, 184 (Wash. Terr.).—DALL & BANNISTER, 279 (Alaska).—COOPER,
Orn. Cal. 1, 1870, 104.—SAMUELS, 256. _Petrochelidon l._ BAIRD,
Review, 1864, 288. _H. opifex_, CLINTON, 1824. _H. respublicana_,
AUD. 1824. _H. fulva_, BON. (not of VIEILLOT).—AUD. Orn. Biog. I,
pl. lviii.—IB. Birds Am. I, pl. xlvii.—MAXIM. Cab. Jour. VI, 1858,
100.

SP. CHAR. (No. 18,322 ♂.) Top of head glossy black, with greenish lustre; back and scapulars similar, but rather duller, and somewhat streaked by the appearance of the white sides of the feathers,—the bases of the feathers, however, being plumbeous. Chin, throat, and sides of head, chestnut-brown, this extending round on the nape as a distinct continuous collar, which is bounded posteriorly by dull grayish. The chestnut darkest on the chin, with a rich purplish tinge. Rump above and on sides paler chestnut (sometimes fading into whitish). Upper tail-coverts grayish-brown, edged with paler, lighter than the plain brown of the wings and tail. Forehead, for the length of the bill, creamy-white, somewhat lunate, or extending in an acute angle, a little over the eye; a very narrow blackish frontlet; loral region dusky to the bill. A patch of glossy black in the lower part of the breast, and a few black feathers in the extreme chin, the latter sometimes scarcely appreciable. Under parts dull white, tinged with reddish-gray on the sides and inside of the wings. Feathers of crissum brownish-gray, edged with whitish, with a tinge of rufous anteriorly (sometimes almost inappreciable). Nest of mud, lined; built against rocks or beams; opening sometimes circular, on the side; sometimes open above; eggs spotted.

Total length, 5.10; wing, 4.50; tail, 2.40, nearly even; difference of primary quills, 2.10; length of bill from forehead, .38, from nostril, .25, along gape, .60, width, .50; tarsus, .48; middle toe and claw, .72; claw alone, .22; hind toe and claw, .44; claw alone, .20.

HAB. Entire United States from Atlantic to Pacific, and along central region to Arctic Ocean and Fort Yukon; Panama in winter. Not noted at Cape St. Lucas, in Mexico, or in West Indies.

There is no difference between the sexes, but the young bird is very different from the adult in the following particulars: the steel-blue above is replaced by a lustreless dusky-brown, the feathers (except on head) being margined with a creamy tint; the neck merely tinged with rufous; the throat has only a dusky suffusion, and the chin is much mixed with white; the frontal patch is obsolete.

A closely allied species from Mexico, _P. swainsoni_ (see Baird, Rev. Am. Birds, 1865, 290), possibly yet to be found near our southern border, differs as follows:—

Frontlet reddish-white, with narrow band of black along upper
mandible … _lunifrons_.

Frontlet chestnut-brown, without black at base of upper mandible.
Size smaller … _swainsoni_.

Sometimes (as in 11,027 ♀ and 11,025 ♂, Fort Bridger) the black patch extends upward, somewhat broken, however, to the bill.

HABITS. The early history of the Cliff Swallow must always remain involved in some obscurity, so far as concerns its numbers and distribution before the first settlement of the country, and even down to the early portion of the present century. Its existence was unknown to Mr. Wilson, and it was unknown to other naturalists until obtained by Say, in Long’s expedition to the Rocky Mountains in 1820. It is now known to occur nearly throughout North America, and to breed from Pennsylvania to the Arctic regions, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Yet to many parts of the country it is a new-comer, where, a few years since, it was entirely unknown. It seems to be probable that at first this species was to be found only in certain localities that offered favorable places whereon to construct their nests. Where high limestone cliffs abound, these birds may have always occurred, although escaping observation.

In the same year that Long discovered this species among the Rocky Mountains (1820), Sir John Franklin’s party also met with it between the Cumberland House and Fort Enterprise, and on the banks of Point Lake, in latitude 65°. In June, 1825, a number of these birds made their first appearance at Fort Chippewyan, and built their nests under the eaves of the house. This fort had then existed many years, and trading-posts had been in existence a century and a half, and yet this was the first instance of its placing itself under the protection of man throughout that wide extent of territory. Mr. Audubon met with this species at Henderson, on the Ohio, in 1815. Two years later he found a colony breeding in Newport, Ky., which dated back to the same year. Several other colonies in that neighborhood also first appeared in the same year. In 1837 I received their eggs from Coventry, Vt., at which time they were a new species to me. They were there known as the “Eave Swallow,” and the time of their first appearance could not be determined. I first met with them in 1839, at Jaffrey, N. H., where they had made their first appearance the year before, and were not then known to be anywhere else in that vicinity. The same year I afterwards found them in Burlington, Vt., where they had been known only for three years. When or where they first appeared in Massachusetts is not known. I first observed a large colony of them in Attleborough in 1842. Its size indicated the existence of these birds in that place for several years. The same year they also appeared, apparently for the first time, in Boston, Hingham, and in other places in the neighborhood.

In 1824, De Witt Clinton read a paper to the New York Lyceum, stating that he had met with these birds at Whitehall, N. Y., at the southern end of Lake Champlain, in 1817, about the time of their first appearance on the Ohio; and Rev. Zadock Thompson met with them in Randolph, Vt., at about the same period. General Dearborn noticed them for the first time in Winthrop, Me., in 1830. They first appeared at Carlisle, Penn., in 1841.

Professor Verrill discovered, in 1861, a large colony of these birds breeding on the high limestone cliffs of Anticosti, apparently in their original condition, and entirely removed from the influences of man. This suggested an inquiry as to their early presence in Northeastern America. From the information he received, he was led to conclude that this Swallow was known to certain parts of Maine earlier than its first discovery anywhere in the West. Whether these birds were indigenous to the West or not cannot now be determined. That they were discovered there only so recently as 1820 proves nothing. We only know that in certain localities—such as Rock River on the Mississippi, and at Anticosti on the St. Lawrence—their occurrence in large numbers in their former normal condition of independence suggests in either locality an equally remote beginning. It is possible, and even probable, that in favorable localities in various parts of the country they existed in isolated colonies. The settlement of the country, and the multiplication of convenient, sheltered, and safe places for their nests, gradually wrought a change in their habits, and greatly multiplied their numbers. At St. Stephen, N. B., and in that neighborhood, Mr. Boardman found this species as abundant in 1828 as they have been at any time since. They were then very plentiful under the eaves of several old barns in that part of the country. Yet twelve years afterward they were entirely unknown on the lower Kennebeck.

Dr. Cooper found this to be an abundant species in California, on the coast, where they breed on the cliffs, and have all the appearance of being indigenous. They appear at San Diego as early as March 15, a week before the Barn Swallow, and do not leave until October. They build even in the noisy streets of San Francisco. Dr. Cooper observed them catching young grasshoppers, which is certainly unusual food for Swallows, and one that has proved fatal to young Barn Swallows when fed to the latter in confinement. At Santa Cruz they bred as early as April 12, and had second broods July 5.

The nests of this Swallow, when built on the side of a cliff or in any exposed position, are constructed in the shape of a retort, the larger portion adhering to the wall, arched over at the top and projecting in front, with a covered passage-way opening at the bottom. The normal original nest, in a state of nature, is an elaborate and remarkably ingenious structure, sheltering its inmates from the weather and from their many enemies. Since they have sought the shelter of man and built under the eaves of barns and houses, the old style of their nests has been greatly changed, and the retort-like shape has nearly disappeared.

In building and in repairing their nests they work with great industry, and often complete their task with wonderful celerity. Where they exist in a large colony, it is not an uncommon thing to see several birds at work upon the same nest,—one bird, apparently the female owner, always assisting and directing the whole. After the work of construction has gone so far as to permit the occupation of the nest, it is often to be observed that the task of completing and improving the structure is kept up by the male. In a large colony of these Swallows, whose nests were built under the projecting roof of a barn in a small island in the Bay of Fundy, every nest was as open as are those of the Barn Swallow. These birds had been encouraged to build by the owner, and boards had been placed above and below their nests, of which they at once took advantage to build an unusual nest. These nests are made of various kinds of adhesive earth and mud. They are neatly and warmly lined with fine dry grasses and leaves, intermingled with feathers, wool, and other soft, warm substances. It has been thought that the mud of which these nests are composed is agglutinated by the saliva of the birds; but of this I have never been able to detect any evidence in the nests themselves, the crumbling nature of which when dry is against this supposition; and the birds themselves are often to be seen about puddles of water, apparently gathering materials.

When the nests of a large colony are invaded, the birds manifest great uneasiness, collecting in a swarm over the head of the intruder, wheeling around in circles, uttering loud outcries, and even flying close to his head, as if to attack him, with loud snapping of the bills.

The song of this Swallow is an unmusical creak, rather than a twitter, frequent rather than loud, and occasionally harsh, yet so earnest and genial in its expression that its effect is far from being unpleasant.

The ground-color of their eggs is white, and they are marked with dots, blotches, and points of reddish-brown. These markings vary greatly in size, number, and distribution. They are usually chiefly about the larger end. In shape they are usually less elongated than those of the Barn Swallow, and their markings are larger. This is not, however, invariable, and the two kinds are not always distinguishable. In length they vary from .875 of an inch to .75, and their average breadth is .60.

GENUS HIRUNDO, LINN.

_Hirundo_, LINN. Syst. Nat. I, 10th ed. 1758, 191. (Type, _H.
rustica_, LINN.)

[Line drawing: _Hirundo horreorum._
1452]

Under the generic head of _Hirundo_ I propose to combine several groups of American Swallows agreeing in moderate, depressed bill, with straight commissure, and lateral nostrils overhung by membrane; the tarsi feathered only at the upper end, or else entirely bare; the lateral claws moderate, not extending beyond the base of the median; the edge of the outer primary without hooks; the tail variable in character, from a very deep fork to a slight emargination only.

Subgenera.

Tarsi slightly feathered on inner face at upper end; equal in length to middle toe without claw.

Tail very deeply forked … _Hirundo_.
Tail slightly forked or emarginate … _Tachycineta_.

Tarsi entirely naked; lengthened equal to middle toe and half its claw.

Tail considerably forked … _Callichelidon_.[69]

SUBGENUS HIRUNDO, LINN.

GEN. CHAR. Nostrils lateral. Tarsi short, not exceeding middle toe without its claw; the upper joint covered with feathers, which extend a short distance along the inner face of tarsus. Tail very deeply forked; the lateral feather much attenuated, twice as long as the middle. Basal joint of middle toe free for terminal fourth on outside, for half on inside. Nest partly of mud, and lined with feathers; eggs spotted.

In type, and in American species, the forehead and throat rufous; a black pectoral collar; tail-feathers with large light spots on inner webs.

But one species, so far as known, of this subgenus as restricted, belongs to America. There are, however, quite a number known in the Old World.

Hirundo horreorum, BARTON.

BARN SWALLOW.

_Hirundo horreorum_, BARTON, Fragments N. H. Penna. 1799, 17.—BAIRD,
Birds N. Am. 1858, 308; Rev. 294.—A. & E. NEWTON, Ibis, 1859, 66
(Sta. Cruz; transient).—SCLATER & SALVIN, Ibis, 1859, 13
(Guatemala).—SCLATER, P. Z. S. 1864, 173 (City of Mex.)—LAWRENCE,
Ann. N. Y. Lyc. 1861, 316 (Panama).—COOPER & SUCKLEY, P. R. R.
Rep. XII, II, 184 (south of Columbia River).—DALL & BANNISTER, 279
(Alaska).—COOPER, Orn. Cal. 1, 1870, 103.—SAMUELS, 254. _Hirundo
rufa_, VIEILL.—CASSIN, Ill.—BREWER, N. Am. Ool. I, 1857, 91, pl.
v, fig. 63-67 (eggs).—CAB. Jour. IV, 1856, 3 (Cuba; spring and
autumn).—REINHARDT, Ibis, 1861, 5 (Greenland; two
specimens).—GUNDLACH, Cab. Jour. 1861, 328 (Cuba; common).
_Hirundo americana_, WILSON; RICH.; LEMBEYE, Aves de Cuba, 1850,
44, lam. vii, fig. 2. _Hirundo rustica_, AUD. Orn. Biog. II, pl.
clxxiii.—IB. Birds Am. I, pl. xlviii.—JONES, Nat. Hist. Bermuda,
34 (Bermudas; Aug. and Sept.).

SP. CHAR. Tail very deeply forked; outer feathers several inches longer than the inner, very narrow towards the end. Above glossy blue, with concealed white in the middle of the back. Throat chestnut; rest of lower part reddish-white, not conspicuously different. A steel-blue collar on the upper part of the breast, interrupted in the middle. Tail-feathers with a white spot near the middle, on the inner web. Female with the outer tail-feather not quite so long. Length, 6.90 inches; wing, 5.00; tail, 4.50.

HAB. Whole of the United States; north to Fort Rae, Slave Lake; Greenland; south in winter to Central America and West Indies; Panama (LAWR.); Plateau of Mexico (breeds, SUMICHRAST); Veragua, Chiriqui (SALVIN). Not found at Cape St. Lucas. South America?

In young birds, the frontal chestnut band is maller and less distinct.

It is still a question whether a South American resident species (_H. erythrogaster_) is identical or not. The only two specimens of the latter (21,007 and 21,008, Vermejo, Feb., 1860; C. Wood) have a very much less violaceous upper plumage than North American examples, the blue above having even a greenish tinge. They are moulting, unfortunately, so that they cannot be satisfactorily compared; except in the respect pointed out, however, they appear to be identical with North American examples.

The European _H. rustica_ is perfectly distinct, though closely allied. It differs essentially from the American _H. horreorum_ in much longer outer tail-feathers, and in having a very broad, continuous collar of steel-blue across the jugulum, entirely isolating the chestnut of the throat; the abdomen appears to be much more whitish than in the American species.

Many specimens of _H. horreorum_ show a continuous collar, but then the two lateral crescents are but just barely connected. In No. 2,191 ♀, Carlisle, Penn., May, there is an indication of as broad a collar as in the European species; but the area, though sharply bounded, is not uniformly black, being much mixed centrally with light rufous.

Specimens of _H. horreorum_ from both coasts of North America appear to be perfectly identical.

HABITS. No one of all our North American birds is more widely diffused, more generally abundant, wherever found, or better known, than the graceful and familiar Barn Swallow. And no one is more universally or more deservedly a favorite. Found throughout North America from Florida to Greenland and from ocean to ocean, and breeding nearly throughout the same wide extent, its distribution is universal. Venturing with a confiding trust into our crowded cities, and building their elaborate nests in the porches of the dwellings, as well as entering in greater numbers the barns and farm-buildings of the agriculturists and placing themselves under the protection of man, they rarely fail to win for themselves the interest and good-will they so well deserve. Innocent and blameless in their lives, there is no evil blended with the many benefits they confer on man. They are his ever-constant benefactor and friend, and are never known, even indirectly, to do him any injury. For their daily food, and for that of their offspring, they destroy the insects that annoy his cattle, injure his fruit-trees, sting his fruit, or molest his person. Social, affectionate, and kind in their intercourse with each other; faithful and devoted in the discharge of their conjugal and parental duties; exemplary, watchful, and tender alike to their own family and to all their race; sympathizing and benevolent when their fellows are in any trouble,—these lovely and beautiful birds are bright examples to all, in their blameless and useful lives.