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Difference between revisions of "Purple Martin" - BirdForum Opus

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[[Image:Purple_Martin.jpg|thumb|550px|right|Male<br />Photo by {{user|HelenB|HelenB}} <br/>Houston, [[Texas]], [[USA]]]]
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[[Image:Purple_Martin.jpg|thumb|550px|right|Male<br />Photo &copy; by {{user|HelenB|HelenB}} <br/>Houston, [[Texas]], [[USA]]]]
 
;[[:Category:Progne|Progne]] subis
 
;[[:Category:Progne|Progne]] subis
  
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Females and Juveniles are duller, with grey underparts.  It takes 2 years for these birds to attain full adult breeding plumage.  This can make it difficult to identify the birds.
 
Females and Juveniles are duller, with grey underparts.  It takes 2 years for these birds to attain full adult breeding plumage.  This can make it difficult to identify the birds.
 
====Flight====
 
====Flight====
[[Image:Purple Martin Progne subis subis male McAllen Nature Center.jpg|thumb|350px|right|First Summer male<br />Photo by {{user|Stanley+Jones|Stanley Jones}}<br />McAllen Nature Center, McAllen, Hidalgo County, [[Texas]], [[USA]], April 2017 ]]
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[[Image:Purple Martin Progne subis subis male McAllen Nature Center.jpg|thumb|350px|right|First Summer male<br />Photo &copy; by {{user|Stanley+Jones|Stanley Jones}}<br />McAllen Nature Center, McAllen, Hidalgo County, [[Texas]], [[USA]], April 2017 ]]
 
Overhead is similar in shape to the [[European Starling]], but flight more buoyant and gliding.
 
Overhead is similar in shape to the [[European Starling]], but flight more buoyant and gliding.
 
==Distribution==
 
==Distribution==
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==Taxonomy==
 
==Taxonomy==
 
====Subspecies====
 
====Subspecies====
[[Image:Purple Martin 2016-30.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Likely a female<br />Photo by {{user|Hughv|Hughv}}<br />College Park, [[Maryland]], May 2016]]
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[[Image:Purple Martin 2016-30.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Likely a female<br />Photo &copy; by {{user|Hughv|Hughv}}<br />College Park, [[Maryland]], May 2016]]
 
This is a [[Dictionary_M-S#P|polytypic]] species<sup>[[#References|[1]]]</sup> consisting of three subspecies<sup>[[#References|[1]]]</sup>:
 
This is a [[Dictionary_M-S#P|polytypic]] species<sup>[[#References|[1]]]</sup> consisting of three subspecies<sup>[[#References|[1]]]</sup>:
 
*''P. s. subis'' - much of eastern 3/4 [[North America]] from [[Canada]] to [[Mexico]], winters in Amazonian [[Brazil]]
 
*''P. s. subis'' - much of eastern 3/4 [[North America]] from [[Canada]] to [[Mexico]], winters in Amazonian [[Brazil]]
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Their diet consists almost entirely of air-borne insects, particularly ants, wasps and bees.
 
Their diet consists almost entirely of air-borne insects, particularly ants, wasps and bees.
 
====Breeding====
 
====Breeding====
Their nest is made of grass and plant material placed in a tree cavity. The clutch consists of 4-5 white eggs.
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Their nest is made of grass and plant material. In most of their range they will nest exclusively in man-made nest boxes, though some birds will use tree cavities west of the Rocky Mountains. The clutch consists of 4-5 white eggs.
  
They readily use nest boxes.
 
 
====Vocalisation====
 
====Vocalisation====
 
The call is ''tchew-wew'', or ''pew pew''.
 
The call is ''tchew-wew'', or ''pew pew''.
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{{ref}}
 
{{ref}}
 
==External Links==
 
==External Links==
{{GSearch|Progne+subis}}  
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{{GSearch|"Progne subis" {{!}} "Purple Martin"}}
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{{GS-checked}}1
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[[Category:Birds]] [[Category:Progne]]
 
[[Category:Birds]] [[Category:Progne]]

Latest revision as of 15:40, 9 June 2023

Male
Photo © by HelenB
Houston, Texas, USA
Progne subis

Identification

7-8 1/2" (18-22 cm).
The adult male is a dark steel-blue.
Females and Juveniles are duller, with grey underparts. It takes 2 years for these birds to attain full adult breeding plumage. This can make it difficult to identify the birds.

Flight

First Summer male
Photo © by Stanley Jones
McAllen Nature Center, McAllen, Hidalgo County, Texas, USA, April 2017

Overhead is similar in shape to the European Starling, but flight more buoyant and gliding.

Distribution

Breeds from British Columbia, central interior Canada, and Nova Scotia, south to Mexico, but absent from interior western mountains and Great Basin..

Winters in tropics. Migrates south to Brazil. Common in the state of São Paulo.

Accidental vagrant to the UK and to Argentina.

Taxonomy

Subspecies

Likely a female
Photo © by Hughv
College Park, Maryland, May 2016

This is a polytypic species[1] consisting of three subspecies[1]:

Habitat

Forest edges, open woodlands, residential areas, and agricultural land. Often near water.

Behaviour

Diet

Their diet consists almost entirely of air-borne insects, particularly ants, wasps and bees.

Breeding

Their nest is made of grass and plant material. In most of their range they will nest exclusively in man-made nest boxes, though some birds will use tree cavities west of the Rocky Mountains. The clutch consists of 4-5 white eggs.

Vocalisation

The call is tchew-wew, or pew pew.

References

  1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
  2. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved August 2017)
  3. Wikipedia

Recommended Citation

External Links

GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1

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