Martins Removed to the Zoo
Author Unknown
1899 Newspaper Article
Philadelphia, PA
Reprinted in the Wilson Bulletin
Volume 6, pages 74-75.
Editorial Preface: This article
below appeared 108 years ago in a scientific birding journal known as the Wilson
Bulletin. The account has received very little attention, and we at the Purple
Martin Preservation Alliance felt it was worth investigating further. The
article ultimately served as the inspiration for a project that we
conducted in southwestern Pennsylvania during the 2007 season, a project that
may serve to break new ground in Purple Martin conservation.
"Remarkable
intelligence was exhibited by a colony of martins which were transferred from
this place [unknown] to the Zoological Garden, in Philadelphia, a few days ago,
the birds returning here and escorting their lost companions to the new home,
where they occupy cozy quarters to the delight of the management of the garden
and its patrons.
For many years the management of the Zoological Garden has been
attempting to secure a colony of martins for the purpose of locating them in the
institution, but every attempt met with failure. The birds would not build in
the boxes erected and could not be coaxed to make their home in the Garden in
any manner, notwithstanding the efforts of the management.
Josiah Hoopes, of this place
[unknown], some time ago became interested in the matter, and being a lover of
the birds, determined to assist the management of the Garden if possible in
securing a colony. He had a fine one at his home and at once began arrangements
for the removal of it to the new location, adopting a rather novel plan for the
transfer. Early in the spring, a large box was prepared for the birds when they
should return to his home after the winter in the south. The box was so
arranged that it could be lowered from its pole at will, and above the entrance
to each apartment in it was arranged a little sliding door which could be
dropped, thus imprisoning the birds. The birds came at the usual time this
spring and commenced the building of their nests in the new box. They were not
disturbed, laid their eggs and in due course of time little martins made their
appearance. This was a few days ago and the time was due for the experiment of
moving them, depending upon the love the old ones bore their young for its success.
A dark night was
selected for the removal and a representative of the Philadelphia institution
was sent for. He came here and the home of the birds was invaded. The
shutters closing the entrances to the home of the birds were dropped, but a few
of them failed to work and [some of] the alarmed birds escaped from the
box. The house was lowered from its pole and taken to the Zoological
Garden , where it was erected in a new location, the managers hoping all would
remain there.
Early the next
morning after the birds were transferred [and the martins released] an unusual
commotion was noticed about the box by the keepers in the Garden. The
martins seemed to be holding a consultation and calling the role in their own
manner. Then they grouped about the box and there was a lot of chattering
among them as though they were deciding some question of great moment.
After this, the entire colony of old birds, leaving the young in the box to care
for themselves, rose in the air and flew away. There was consternation in the
"Zoo" and it was decided that the attempt at removal [actually relocation] had
been a failure.
An hour after
the birds had left Philadelphia, there was a commotion on the Hoopes lawn. A
large colony of martins were gathered there and they were chattering at a great
rate. Occasionally, another bird would join the assemblage. Finally all
the birds rose and disappeared in a flock. Before noon there was happiness
at the "Zoo." The martins had returned to their home and the colony was
augmented by many new arrivals. The birds had returned for the ones which had
escaped from their homes in the box the night before and had escorted them to
their young. The birds are now located in the Garden and making their home their
[sic]
as though it were their original place of abode, and there is joy in the hearts
of the managers.
The above clipping from a Philadelphia newspaper was
sent by Mr. Frank L. Burns, and is of great interest in showing that wild birds
can be transplanted . -- [Editor, Lyns Jones, 1899]"
Editorial Commentary
and Analysis: I was very intrigued by this century-old
account and began searching for
more information. If this account is to be believed, it could mean that a
radically new colony-establishment technique has been ignored for over 100
years. An internet search for the name "Josiah Hoopes" revealed that
there was a world-renowned botanist and nursery owner named Josiah Hoopes who lived
on Maple St. in West
Chester, PA, about 20 miles due west of Philadelphia. If this were the same Hoopes,
we could be sure of the original location of the colony, and thus the distance of the
transplant. (See map at bottom of
page). Further research revealed that this same
Josiah Hoopes was also an amateur ornithologist who had amassed a huge
collection of bird skins that he eventually donated to the Philadelphia Academy
of Natural Sciences. He also sent bird skins to the Smithsonian Institution for
identification. My belief that this was the same Josiah Hoopes was further corroborated by
a West Chester University history professor and local historian named Jim Jones, who indicated that
the name was fairly uncommon among Quakers, and agreed that this was certainly the same Josiah Hoopes.
Josiah Hoopes
(1832-1904), whose last name is pronounced like "took" or "look" and not like
hula-"hoop", was a member of several
professional organizations, suggesting he was an educated man with the time and
means to design and carry out an elaborate experiment of this nature. Keep in mind that Hoopes
had to design a martin house that would both trap the martins inside and that
could be lowered & removed without tilting over (because the shutters would have
opened and nests become upset). Two poles would have been needed to
accommodate the project - one at the donor site and one at the transplant site.
Nothing is known about about the specific design of the poles or housing, the
number of pairs, the age of the nestlings, whether or not martins came back the
next year, what day the transplant was done, and how the house was transported.
Was the house he moved from his yard to the Zoo the only one he had? Did
the Zoo get martins back the following year? Was the writer of the
newspaper article a witness - or did he get his information second-hand? How accurate is his
version of events? A slew of questions remained.
It is tempting to
believe that more detailed records of the planning and execution of this
experiment exist, as it was common for both amateur and professional
scientists to keep diaries or journals. It seems plausible that Hoopes would
have bequeathed any such records to one of the institutions he was affiliated
with. Hoopes corresponded regularly with the Smithsonian Institute, where he
sent bird skins to be examined and identified. He also
donated his rather extensive bird
skin collection to the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences. I have attempted to locate any
journals or diaries pertaining to his Purple Martin transplant experiment by contacting
both institutions, but while both have letters to or from Hoopes in their
collection, none of them mention his Purple Martin transplant project. The West Chester
Historical Society and the Quaker Library at Swarthmore College also hold
extensive genealogical records of the Quakers in eastern PA, but neither had
anything about the Hoopes transplant. The Philadelphia Zoo librarian could not
determine from their records if the Zoo ever had a colony of martins since they
would not have been cataloged as part of the Zoo's collection. If it could be
documented that the Zoo had a colony in 1899 or 1900, it would tend to verify
that the experiment was successful. I also contacted the president of
the West Chester Bird Club, to see if they had any historical information about
this experiment. It seems odd that nobody did more
to document this amazing experiment at the time - not even the editor of the
Wilson Bulletin commented on this transplant account. One
would think that if this colony-starting technique had been successful, it
would have become more widely-known and practiced.
The most helpful, friendly, and interesting source of information was a local
West Chester historian and college professor named Jim Jones, an authority on
Hoopes and other Quakers, who generously gave of his time in helping to research this
mystery. Jim was kind enough to search the archives of the West Chester
Historical Society for information about the Hoopes transplant experiment. Jim
maintains a website about various aspects of West Chester history and government
at http://wcjim.com He is
an amazing and generous individual, who also wrote a short , but very
interesting biography about Josiah Hoopes.
New Information Surfaces! On
August 21, 2007, I traveled to Waynesburg, PA, home of the late J. Warren Jacobs,
a prominent ornithologist and contemporary of Josiah Hoopes, where I met
with George Blystone, a descendent of Jacobs, who has a large collection of
Jacob's effects. Among them was a collection of his published material, and one
of these publications contained information about the Hoopes experiment. This
new material reveals that the Hoopes experiment did not succeed.
"... I quote
the following from Circular No. 56 U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Bureau of
Biological Survey. -- Value of Swallows as Insect Destroyers. by H.W. Henshaw.
'This experiment was tried in the zoological gardens at
Philadelphia in 1889 [date incorrect] by Mr. Robert D. Carson, who, by
means of a trap house, secured a colony of nine pairs with 32 young from the
grounds of Mr. Josiah Hoopes, of West Chester, transporting them the distance of
about 20 miles by train at night. When released next morning the old birds
deserted the young and returned to West Chester. The temptation of the old home
so close by proved too strong even for parental affection. Most of the young
however, were successfully raised by hand feeding, being fed chiefly
cockroaches, grasshoppers, crickets, mealworms, and "prepared food." This is a
mixture intended for insectivorous birds, and according to Mr. Carson was well
liked by the nestlings and agreed well with them. It consists of "dried and
ground beef heart, meal, ground zweiback, boiled and mashed white potatoes,
grated raw carrot, and grated hard-boiled eggs." Probably any similar mixture
would answer equally well. A small colony resulted from this experiment which
would probably have proved permanent but for the fact that additional houses
were put up in West Chester, and after two years the colony deserted to the old
neighborhood. Though only temporary success was achieved, the experiment is
encouraging and points the way to ultimate success. For the above facts, I am
indebted to Mr. Charles J. Pennock, of Kennett Square, PA.' -
Dated April 27, 1907.
In the opinion of the present writer these birds did not
desert the Zoological Garden and return to West Chester because additional boxes
were put up in the latter place, but because conditions of the new quarters,
when they returned twice to breed, did not appeal to their instincts. Perhaps
the place was too public, the position or height of the box not to their liking,
or the box itself not suitable for successfully rearing their young." - from
Jacobs, J. Warren. 1909. "The Purple Martin and Houses for Its Summer Home"
Gleanings No. 5. p. 38
Editorial Commentary
and Analysis: Henshaw states that
"a small colony resulted from" the Hoopes experiment, and if it is true that the
Zoological Gardens did have a colony of breeding martins the next season (and
even this is questionable), it
would not be a direct result of the Hoopes transplant, but rather a result of
the abandoned nestlings that were hand-raised and released by Robert D. Carson
and the Zoo staff - a technique known as "hacking". Additionally,
Jacobs explanation of why the colony abandoned the Zoo after two years is
unlikely . If the box or location did not appeal to them, they would not have
nested there for even one year. If they did not return for a second or third
year, it was probably because they experienced "total reproductive failure,"
which means that none of the nesting pairs successfully fledged any young at the
Zoo site in the season prior to the abandonment. That failure may have been a
result of predation by owls or raccoons, depredation by starlings or house
sparrows, or weather-induced starvation of the nestlings. We now know that
martins will return to the same nest site year after year as long as they
successfully fledge young (and survive their migration to and from Brazil). But
even small colonies of one or two successfully-nesting pairs are extremely
vulnerable because of natural off-season mortality of the adults.
Other links and items pertaining to Josiah Hoopes:
An
obituary about Hoopes that appeared in the Auk (Adobe Acrobat Reader
required)
A letter written to Hoopes from the
Curator of Birds at the Smithsonian Institute
A letter Hoopes wrote to the Curator of
Birds at the Smithsonian Institute
The
photographs above with martin housing in them are not of Josiah Hoopes Purple
Martin colonies in West Chester, but rather of J. Warren
Jacobs martin housing in Waynesburg. Jacobs was a contemporary of Hoopes;
both ornithologists lived around the turn of the century in Pennsylvania. Thanks to George Blystone
of Jacobs Birdhouse Co. for permission to use the
Jacobs photographs.
Based on this and other accounts claiming to have
successfully transplanted martins, the Purple Martin Preservation Alliance
decided to test whether breeding Purple Martins could be transplanted.
We applied for state and federal wildlife permits to attempt several transplants during
the 2007 season.
