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The Purple Martin (Progne subis) is the largest North America
North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
n swallow
Swallow

The swallows and martins are a group of passerine birds in the family Hirundinidae which are characterised by their adaptation to aerial feeding....
 at 20 cm length. Adults have a slightly forked tail. These "aerial acrobats" have speed and agility in flight, and when approaching their housing, will dive from the sky with their wings tucked at great speeds.

This species was first described by Linnaeus
Carolus Linnaeus

Carl Linnaeus was a Sweden botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern alpha taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology....
 in his Systema naturae in 1758 as Hirundo subis.
er identification of Purple Martins is determined by their age.






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The Purple Martin (Progne subis) is the largest North America
North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
n swallow
Swallow

The swallows and martins are a group of passerine birds in the family Hirundinidae which are characterised by their adaptation to aerial feeding....
 at 20 cm length. Adults have a slightly forked tail. These "aerial acrobats" have speed and agility in flight, and when approaching their housing, will dive from the sky with their wings tucked at great speeds.

This species was first described by Linnaeus
Carolus Linnaeus

Carl Linnaeus was a Sweden botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern alpha taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology....
 in his Systema naturae in 1758 as Hirundo subis.

Description

Proper identification of Purple Martins is determined by their age. It takes two years for this species to reach their full adult breeding plumage. This makes identification complicated. There are some common acronyms used in identifying the age and sex of Purple Martins. "HY" means "hatching year", "SY" means "second year" and "ASY" means "after second year".

  • ASY (adult birds)
Adult males are entirely black with glossy steel blue
Steel blue

Steel blue is a shade of blue that resembles steel....
 sheen, and adult females are dark on top with some steel blue sheen, and lighter underparts.
  • SY (subadult birds)
Females look similar to "ASY" females minus the steel blue sheen on the back. Males look very much like females at this age, but they will have solid black feathers starting to emerge on their chest in a blotchy, random pattern as they moult to their adult plumage.

The eastern nominate subspecies
Subspecies

In biology, subspecies is the taxonomic rank immediately subordinate to a species. A subspecies is a taxonomic group which is less distinct than the Common descent or species from which it originates....
 P. s. subis nests exclusively in man-made bird houses, of which about a million are provided. It is the only bird
Bird

Birds are wing, Bipedalismal, endothermic , vertebrate animals that lay egg . There are around 10,000 living species, making them the most numerous tetrapod vertebrates....
 totally dependent on humans for nest sites. It is important to note that unmonitored Purple Martin houses often become breeding colonies for House Sparrow
House Sparrow

The House Sparrow is a member of the Old World sparrow family sparrow, considered by some to be a relative of the Weaver Finch Family. It occurs naturally in most of Europe and much of Asia....
s and Common Starlings — invasive species responsible for declining Martin populations across North America. Both of these aggressive non-native species were introduced from Europe and often kill Martins for their nest cavity . If House Sparrows and/or Starlings are not actively controlled and removed from the housing site, the Martins will lose their eggs and young causing the martins to abandon the site. Because of the devastating effects on Purple Martins, many landlords trap the invasive species to ensure the survival of their colony of martins.

The paler subspecies P. s. hesperia of Arizona
Arizona

The State of Arizona is a U.S. state located in the Southwestern United States of the United States. The capital and largest city is Phoenix, Arizona....
 and western Mexico uses only woodpecker
Woodpecker

Woodpeckers are near passerine birds of the order Piciformes. They are one subfamily in the family Picidae, which also includes the piculets and wrynecks....
 holes in Saguaro
Saguaro

The Saguaro, pronounced "sah-wah-roh", is a large, tree-sized cactus species in the monotypic genus Carnegiea. It is native to the Sonoran Desert in Arizona, the Mexico political divisions of Mexico of Sonora and Baja California, and an extremely small area of California....
 and other large cacti
Cactus

A cactus is any member of the spine plant family Cactaceae, native to the Americas. They are often used as ornamental plants, but some are also Crop plants....
, and the large pale west coast form P. s. arboricola utilises woodpecker and other natural cavities as well as nesting boxes and gourds.

The call is described as: "Throaty and rich tchew-wew, etc., or pew pew. Song gurgling, ending in a succession of low rich gutturals". Purple Martins also have a "dawnsong". Tapes of this song are sold to attract martins to newly established birdhouses.

Distribution and ecology

Their breeding habitat is open areas across eastern North America, and also some locations on the west coast from British Columbia
British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's Provinces and territories of Canada and is famed for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu ....
 to Mexico
Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
. . This species typically breeds in colonies located in close proximity to human housing.

The Purple Martin migrates
Bird migration

Bird migration refers to the regular seasonal journeys undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather....
 to the Amazon
Amazon River

The Amazon River of South America is the list of rivers by length in the world by volume, with a total river flow greater than the next top eight largest rivers combined....
 basin in winter. Its winter range extends into Ecuador
Ecuador

Ecuador , officially the , literally, "Republic of the equator") is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, by Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west....
 but does not seem to ascend far up the Andean
Andes

The Andes form the world's longest exposed mountain range. They lie as a continuous chain of highland along the western coast of South America. The range is over 7,000 km long, 200-700 km wide , and of an average height of about 4,000 m ....
 foothills.

The first record of this species in Europe
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
 was a single bird on Lewis
Lewis

Lewis is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The total area of Lewis is ....
, Scotland
Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
 on 5-6 September 2004, and the second was on the Azores
Azores

The Azores is a Portugal archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, about 1,500 km from Lisbon and about 3,900 km from the east coast of North America....
 on 6 September 2004.

Purple Martins are aerial insectivores, meaning that they catch insects from the air. The birds are agile hunters and eat a variety of winged insects. Rarely, on occasion, they will come to the ground to eat insects. They usually fly relatively high, so, contrary to popular opinion, mosquito
Mosquito

Mosquitoes are common flying insects in the family Culicidae that are found around the world. There are about 3,500 species. They have a pair of scaled wings, a pair of halteres, a slender body, and six long legs....
s do not form a large part of their diet.

See also

  • Tree Swallow
    Tree Swallow

    The Tree Swallow, Tachycineta bicolor, is a bird migration passerine bird that breeds in North America and winters in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean....
     - many similar characteristics
  • Barn Swallow
    Barn Swallow

    The Barn Swallow is the most widespread species of swallow in the world. A distinctive passerine bird with blue upperparts, a long, deeply forked tail and curved, pointed Bird flight#The wing, it is found in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas....
     - these Swallows may be attracted to "Purple Martin Houses
    Nest box

    A nest box, nestboxor birdhouse) is a man-made box provided for animals to nest in. Nest boxes are most frequently utilized for Wildlife and Domestication birds, but some mammal species may also use them....
    " and thus confused with Purple Martins


Footnotes


External links

  • (for Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
    Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

    Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is an island nation in the Lesser Antilles island arc of the Caribbean Sea. Its territory consists of the main island of Saint Vincent and the northern two-thirds of the Grenadines....
    )
  • on the Internet Bird Collection
  • - National Audubon Society


  • VIREO