The Purple Mart.in (progne subis subis) has been recognized for several centuries as one of North America’s most beneficial birds. As early as the late 1700’s, Audubon obaerved martins nesting in gourds erected by Choctaw and Chickasaw Indians in the states of Alabama and Mississippi. Many theories and tales have been created about this beaut.iful bird that so eagerly nests in man-made sites. One such theory is t.hat t.he same birds return year after year to the same nesting cavities, and it is this theory that 1 have chosen to examine more closely.