Lord Martin has the purple, I mean, floor

Although me and mine appreciate all the assistance we can get from the unfortunate race of bipedal creatures known as “American suburbanites” in our War of Independence against the nefarious European invaders (a.k.a. Common Starlings and House Sparrows), we would ask for our dear and kind allies to – don't get me wrong – realize that sometimes the Declaration of the Right of Birds have to play second fiddle to more pragmatic, immediate but likely more effective methods of actions. In plain English, DON'T RELOCATE THE BLOODY STARLINGS AFTER YOU CAUGHT THEM IN YOUR SPARROW TRAPS!!! May we also ask one of your high priest-wizards, commonly but not entirely correctly referred to as “scientists”, to use their magical skills and engineer a new deadly disease which selectively targets Common Starlings and House Sparrows only? Of course, the brood-parasitical provocations of the Brown-Headed Cowbird is the next causus belli, but then, nature red in tooth and beak, yes? Martin Purple, elected plenipotentiary of the Purple Martin tribe, over and out. And merry Xmas!

A bird named martin

Some time ago, I discovered what must be North America's strangest subculture. All across the eastern half of the United States, thousands of people put up specially designed nest houses or gourds to attract a gregarious songbird known as the purple martin (Progne subis subis), the largest member of the swallow family. These people call themselves “landlords” and act as care-takers for purple martin colonies during their breeding season. This quasi-symbiotic relationship between man and Progne subis goes back to the Chickasaw and Choctaw, was taken up by both White settlers and Black slaves, and continued on to the present day. It turns out that the martins probably can't survive east of the Rocky Mountains without human management, to a large extent due to competition from two non-native species, the Common Starling and the House Sparrow. The purple martins have adapted themselves to human management by learning to nest in colonies, and to seek out human habitat for nesting, something the populations west of the Rockies apparently don't do (these populations breed “naturally” and belong to two separate subspecies).

“Purple Martin Book” is a lavishly illustrated beginner's guide for people who want to become “landlords” and attract these particular birds to their back yards or front lawns. Management of purple martin colonies strikes me as a time-consuming hobby, almost like breeding pigeons or cage birds! Many landlords have nest houses that can be lowered from their poles, so that the landlord can inspect the birds' nests, remove parasites, or plug nest holes used by intruders such as House Sparrows. People also feed “their” colonies with mealworms or crushed eggshells, and defend them from predators by outfitting the nest houses with owl guards, and the poles with predator guards. (And, I suppose, by keeping the house cat indoors!) The colony can survive cold weather by the landlord placing a light bulb in the centre of the structure, making you wonder what happens to the birds during a black-out! During hot weather, some landlords gently sprinkle the nest houses or gourds with cold water from a hose. I'd say these birds are spoiled!

The book also contains extensive information on purple martin behaviour, including the complex interactions within the colony between males and females, or between breeding birds and “floaters”. Thus, “Purple Martin Book” could be of interest even to people with no particular plans to manage a colony of their own. The photos are in full colour, and show birds, various kinds of nest houses, and some of the proud landlords. Addresses to purple martin-devoted organizations, and business selling supplies related for this hobby, are also included. Of course, the landlords don't see it as a hobby, but as a serious conservation effort. Which, in a sense, it is. One issue not mentioned is whether the purple martins, which apparently are pretty sensitive to both cold and hot weather, will manage to cope with climate change. Habitat destruction in their Brazilian winter quarters could be another threat, and the local authorities in Sao Paolo have long viewed the enormous flocks of migratory purple martins as a public sanitation nuisance.

I suppose the fate of Progne subis subis depends to a great extent on how well their Homo sapiens care-takers will fare. Only time will tell whether or not it was a clever evolutionary move of these birds to make themselves dependent on The Crown of Creation…

One swallow doesn´t make a summer

"Handbook of the Birds of the World" (HBW) is a 16-volume mega-encyclopedia covering all living species of birds. Yes, all of them. Really! This is the ninth volume, covering a number of passerine families. Highlights include cotingas, lyrebirds, swallows and the extraordinarily diverse tyrant-flycatchers. We also meet the primitive New Zealand wrens, believed to be the first passerines to diverge from the main stem of passerine evolution, already 85 million years ago.

As usual, the information presented is too detailed to ever by devoured by a layman, and even ornithologists might feel a bit cornered. Despite being an advanced reference work for scientists, HBW could be sold on the commercial market, as well. The stunning photos and illustrations (all in color) are what makes this book both so expensive, and so desirable...

The most fascinating chapter in this volume deals the swallow in human mythology. Apparently, barn swallows used to be associated with the crucifixion of Christ. They tried to save Christ from the temple guard in Gethsemane, and later tried to pluck out the thorns from his head. Another legend claims that while magpies tortured Christ by putting thorns into his feet, the swallows tried to remove them. For this reason, God granted swallows free access to human homes. We are also informed that a swallow reunited Adam and Eve after their expulsion from Eden.

In other legends, the swallows play a Promethean role. They steal the fire of the gods and give it to man. The fire is guarded by sparrows! (I *always* suspected them of being up to no good!) There are also many strange tales about why swallows have forked tails: because the snake in Eden bit off the middle feathers, or Thor tore the tail with a thunderbolt. The HBW also claims that the Koran mentions swallows attacking Christians besieging Mecca. This, however, cannot be correct. I never heard of any Christian attack on Mecca during the time of Muhammad. Overall, a problem with all these myths is that the HBW doesn't give their provenance. I've read in another book that magpies were popular during both Roman times and the Middle Ages, so where does the legend of magpies attacking Christ on the cross come from? 19th century British gamekeepers? Strangely, the mythology section says nothing about the old superstition that swallows hibernate during winter at the bottom of lakes.

But then, HBW isn't really about mythology, is it? ;-)

As already mentioned, this staggeringly well-produced work isn't really intended for a general audience, but rather for large libraries and universities. It's extremely expensive and the text is heavy and filled with scientific jargon. Still, if you are a really rich bird-lover, or just love spectacular books, you might actually enjoy it. Five stars!