Species: Progne subis
Purple Martin
Species
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Encyclopedia of Puget Sound
Classification
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Craniata
Class
Aves
Order
Passeriformes
Family
Hirundinidae
Genus
Progne
NatureServe
Classification
Other Global Common Names
Andorinha-Azul, Andorinha-Púrpura - Golondrina Azulnegra, Golondrina Purpúrea - hirondelle noire
Informal Taxonomy
<p>Animals, Vertebrates - Birds - Perching Birds</p>
Formal Taxonomy
Animalia - Craniata - Aves - Passeriformes - Hirundinidae - Progne - ) (AOU 1998). See Sheldon and Winkler (1993) for information on intergeneric phylogenetic relationships of Hirundininae based on DNA-DNA hybridization.
Ecology and Life History
Short General Description
A bird (swallow, martin).
Migration
<p>false - false - true - Migrates mainly along coast. Arrives in southern U.S. by early February (January in southern Florida), northern states and southern Canada in April (Morton and Derrickson 1990). Migrates through Costa Rica August to mid-October and late January-April (Stiles and Skutch 1989). Present in South America mostly September-March (Ridgely and Tudor 1989).</p>
Non-migrant
false
Locally Migrant
false
Food Comments
Catches insects in the air; occasionally forages by walking along the ground. Eats ants, wasps, beetles, grasshoppers, dragonflies, etc. Forages often over fields, water, or marshes.
Reproduction Comments
In southern Arizona, eggs are laid in July (Stutchbury 1991). Mating system involves monogamous pairing with extrapair fertilizations by older males. Clutch size is 3-8 (usually 4-5). Incubation lasts 15-16 days, by female. Male guards nest when females goes off to feed. Young are tended by both adults, leave nest 24-28 days after hatching (Harrison 1978), return to nest to roost for a few days after fledging. Usually 1, sometimes 2 broods per season (also reported as only 1 nesting per year). Depending on the location, a few or many of the breeding males are one-year-olds. Most individuals breed for 2-3 seasons. Usually nests in colonies in east and midwest. In natural sites, breeds in single pairs or small groups.
Ecology Comments
During spring and summer populations periodically decimated due to prolonged cold, wet weather, and lack of insect food. Often local in distribution. Forms large roosting flocks at night after nesting season and before southward migration.
Length
20
Weight
49
Conservation Status
NatureServe Global Status Rank
G5
Global Status Last Reviewed
1996-12-02
Global Status Last Changed
1996-12-02
Other Status
<p>LC - Least concern</p>
Distribution
Conservation Status Map
<img src="http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/GetMapGif?CA.AB=S3&CA.BC=S2&CA.MB=S3&CA.NB=S1&CA.NS=S1&CA.ON=S4&CA.PE=__&CA.QC=S2&CA.SK=S5&US.AL=S5&US.AZ=S4&US.AR=S4&US.CA=S3&US.CO=S3&US.CT=S1&US.DE=S5&US.DC=S1&US.FL=SNR&US.GA=S5&US.IL=S5&US.IN=S4&US.IA=S5&US.KS=S4&US.KY=S5&US.LA=S5&US.ME=S3&US.MD=S5&US.MA=S1&US.MI=S5&US.MN=SNR&US.MS=S5&US.MO=SNR&US.NN=S2&US.NE=S4&US.NH=S1&US.NJ=S4&US.NM=S3&US.NY=S5&US.NC=S5&US.ND=SNR&US.OH=S5&US.OK=S5&US.OR=S2&US.PA=S4&US.RI=S3&US.SC=SNR&US.SD=S5&US.TN=S5&US.TX=S5&US.UT=S2&US.VT=S3&US.VA=S5&US.WA=S3&US.WV=S4&US.WI=S2&US.WY=SH" alt="Conservation Status Map" style="width: 475px; height: auto;" />
Global Range
BREEDING: west of Cascades and Sierra Nevada from southwestern British Columbia south to northwestern Mexico and Arizona; east of Rocky Mountains from northeastern British Columbia, central Alberta, east through northern Minnesota, northern Wisconsin, southern Ontario, to Nova Scotia, south to Gulf coast and southern Florida. NON-BREEDING: locally from northern South America south to northern Bolivia, northern Argentina, and southern Brazil, east of Andes; apparently mainly in southern Brazil (Hilty and Brown 1986, Stiles and Skutch 1989, Ridgely and Tudor 1989).