Evening star., 1944-06-26
This and That
By Charles E. Trnce1Dell.


An Arlington, Va, reader wants to
know something about purple martins.
This has been the best year for these
interesting birds in many seasons.
Householders who have had up martin
houses for years without any takers
this summer report great success.
Martins are members Of the swallow
family, all of which live in colonies.
Hence house built to appeal to purple
martins must be multiple in character.
No doubt most persons have seen such
houses, perched high on tall pole.
The purple martin is the only bird
which really tolerates others under the
same roof. Swallows will nest within
few feet Of each other inside barn
or garage, but the martins are real
apartment dwellers.
This trait should endear them to
the thousands of apartment dwellers,
many of whose buildings are now far
out in the country. In fact, some of
our local apartment dwellings in recent
years were placed in what once were
fields, and they immediately filled up
with crickets as well as human beings.
1t Is no wonder that the purple
martin likes his house high in the air,
for he is what is called on air feeder,
that is, he catches his insect food on
the wing.
He also resembles humanity in liking
to perch on his porch and look over the
landscape and neighbors each evening.
That is the reason why the doors are
made low, with a bit of balcony outside
for each family.
Even with the proper house in the
right location, there is no guarantee
that the martins will come. Often they
go for several seasons without entering
the houses so carefully set up for them.
In many seasons only sparrows take
to the houses Sometimes a bluebird
family will enter In all such cases
there are but few nesters, since the
ones which come in first drive the
others away, in typical bird fashion.
This brings us to the territorial theory,
that birds stake out for themselves at
nesting time a certain territory which
other birds more or less respect. This
is because of the food situation, and the
great difficulty of getting enough of it
for so many hungry mouths.
Martins have the great air, itself for
their food searchings. and evidently do
not find as much competition in this
sort of hunting as other birds do in
picking up insects and seeds from
shrubs and the ground.
Surely the purple martin is queer
bird in passing up so many houses
especially erected for it, and in nesting
in some Pennsylvania cities Just a few
feet above the busiest corners
In some localities they have been
known to come to the same boxes for
more than so years, in which time
several houses had to be made for
them.
Perhaps the smallest multiple house
should have eight compartments, each
6 inches square with entrance holes
2la inches square.
There should be a roof over all Each
apartment should have it's little portico
The house should be at the top of
a pole at least 20 feet high
The pole should be put up out in
the open, away from both buildings and
trees. 1t is to the violation of this
rule that so many failures to draw
purple martins may be attributed
Since a multiple dwelling is very
heavy, the enthusiast will have to de-
wise some method for taking the whole
affair down each fall, so that it may
be cleaned. Some failure may be laid
to the difficulty Of achieving this, since
many friends of martins never think
OF it until after the house is up. Then
it is too much trouble and work to take
1t down. The birds do not like dirty
houses. and will not come to them.
The house should be given at least
two coats of white paint, or some very
light color. The roof is best peaked
with good shingles to keep out the heat
The Indians attracted purple martins
by putting up gourds for them, and
modification Of this is used In the
South where some people hang up an
old wagon wheel and attach the gourds
to the spokes.