| Publication Type: | Journal Article |
| Year of Publication: | 1952 |
| Authors: | Allen, RW, Nice, MM |
| Journal: | American Midland Naturalist |
| Volume: | 47 |
| Issue: | 3 |
| Date Published: | 1952 |
| ISBN Number: | 00030031 |
| Keywords: | Apodidae, Apus, Apus apus, Columba, Columba palumbus, Columbidae, Hirundinidae, Hirundo, Hirundo rustica, Parulidae, Passer, Passer domesticus, Passeridae, Progne, Progne subis, Protonotaria, Protonotaria citrea, Riparia, Riparia cincta, Sturnidae, Sturnus, Sturnus vulgaris, Tachycineta, Tachycineta bicolor, Troglodytes, Troglodytes aedon, Troglodytes troglodytes, Troglodytidae |
| Abstract: | The Purple Martin, largest of North American Swallows, is sexually dimorphic, but the first year male looks much like the female. It is highly social in its nesting, roosting, and migration. In eastern North America man has largely destroyed the primeval trees in which it used to nest; he now offers homes to this bird, his original motive being to utilize its services in driving eft birds of prey. Dependent as it is on a highly specialized nestng site for which competition is keen, it often returns from its wintering grounds in Brazil too early for its own good. It is highly vulnerable to weather in the matter of food supply. Migration of the Martin is closely correlated with temperature. The mean temperature of the day of arrival at four stations was 5⚬-14⚬ F. above normal; of the week before arrival at three stations 6⚬-7⚬. Average dates recorded for 5 to 55 years from south to north show the gradual progress of spring migration from February 6 in Florida to April 29 in North Dakota. In two localities very early colonies averaged seven and eight days earlier than more typical ones. Two instances of reverse migration are cited. In the West, Martins still nest in cavities in large dead trees; the Southwestern Martin in saguaros. In man-made houses it is essential that rooms be made large to prevent loss of nestlings during hot weather. The male defends a room from other males; the female chooses a room and thereby obtains a mate Nest building may not begin for more than a month after the arrival of the first birds at a colony. The date of its start is correlated with temperature. At first males are more active, later females. While the females gather material from the ground, their mates guard them from other males. From 4-6 eggs are laid. There is but one brood in the South as well as the North. Incubation is by the female alone; she spends some 70 per cent of the daylight hours on the nest in normal weather, about 80 per cent in colder weather. The male guards the nest during her absences. Incubation lasts 15-16 days. In table 4, 14 species of swallows are compared as to weight of adult, role of sexes in incubation, number of eggs laid, length of incubation and fledging. With North Temperate Zone species incubation lasts 14-16 days, with Tropical species 14-20 days. In table 5 it is shown that where only the female incubates, eggs are covered from 69-77 per cent of daylight hours in the North Temperate Zone, from 49-60 per cent in the Tropics; when both parents incubate, this percentage is over 90 per cent in the North, from 70-90 in the Tropics. Fledging usually takes 28 days. In the first 12 days the nestling increases from less than 3 grams to about 45 grams; at 20 days it weighs about 57 grams; at 28 days 50 grams. From the 12th to 20th day the bird grows most of its feathers. Widmann watched 16 boxes for a whole day; 3277 trips were made, 55.6 per cent of them by the females. Hourly trips per young ranged from 1.9 for week-old birds and 5 for four-week birds to 6.2 for five-week birds, averaging 4.4 trips for all ages. Nesting success during three years at the George Reserve was poor, only 38.5 per cent of the eggs developing into fledged young. In 32 studies of 14 other hole-nesting species reproductive efficiency ranged from 25.7 per cent with Prothonotary Warblers in Michigan to 93.7 per cent with Tree Swallows in Montana. The average success of 90,676 eggs came to 66.2 per cent. Among factors inimical to nesting success are unfavorable weather--cold and rain that bring starvation, heat that drives the young prematurely from the nest, and attacks by parasites, chiefly calliphorid larvae. Predators play a minor role, but conflicts with nest-competitors may be crucial. In the past Bluebirds were a menace; House Sparrows when first introduced were very aggressive; Tree Swallows and Starlings drive Martins from houses, while House Wrens pierce their eggs. Adult Martins may perish from cold weather in early spring and in the nesting season. Predators do not capture many of these swift flying birds. But Martins are killed by various of man's inventions and deliberately in their roosts. Of 79 Martins banded as adults and recovered in the breeding season, 77 were found at their home colonies, one was taken 10 miles away and another 100 miles, the latter during a severe storm. One Martin banded in Minnesota was taken 2 1/2 years later in Brazil. Of 46 Martins banded as nestlings and recovered from May to July from one to six years later, 28 were taken at their birthplace, seven from 8-22 miles distant, eight from 28-58 miles distant, one 100 miles northeast, one 170 miles south, one 210 miles northeast. In banding studies on seven species from one-half to three-quarters of the birds banded as nestlings and found in subsequent breeding seasons have been taken in close proximity to the birthplace. The greatest age attained by a banded Martin is eight years. Pages 655-658 deal with some aspects of the Purple Martins' social behavior: whether old males act as "scouts" in the spring, the function of territory in this species, the questions of sexual fighting and social defense, and finally a case of intraspecific destruction of young. |
| URL: | http://www.jstor.org/stable/2422034 |
| Short Title: | American Midland Naturalist |
Taxonomic name:
Apodidae (Birds), Apus (Birds), Apus apus (Birds), Columba (Birds), Columba palumbus (Birds), Columba Palumbus (Birds), Columbidae (Birds), Hirundinidae (Birds), Hirundo (Birds), Hirundo rustica (Birds), Hirundo rustica (Birds), Passer (Birds), Passer domesticus (Birds), Passeridae (Birds), Riparia (Birds), Sturnidae (Birds), Sturnus (Birds), Sturnus vulgaris (Birds), Sturnus vulgaris (Birds), Troglodytes (Birds), Troglodytes troglodytes (Birds), Troglodytidae (Birds)