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Learn about Purple Martin (subis/arboricola): explore photos, sounds, and observations collected by birders around the world.
Adult males are iridescent, dark blue-purple overall with brown-black wings and tail. Large and chunky swallow. Females/immatures are duller, with variable amounts of gray on the head and chest and a dingy lower belly. Note gray collar around the neck.
Graceful in flight, musical in its pre-dawn singing, this big swallow is one of our most popular birds. Almost all Purple Martins in the east now nest in birdhouses put up especially for them.
The purple martin (Progne subis) is a passerine bird in the swallow family Hirundinidae. It is the largest swallow in North America. Despite its name, the purple martin is not truly purple.
In the East, dark, glossy-blue males and brown females will peer from the entrances and chirp from the rooftops all summer. In the West, martins mainly still nest the old-fashioned way—in woodpecker holes. Our largest swallows, Purple Martins perform aerial acrobatics to snap up flying insects.
The Purple Martin is the largest member of the swallow family. These fast flying birds feed by catching insects on the wing. The martins nest in large colonies in multi-story birdhouses that have many units.
Lifecycle and body size information about Purple Martin, including statistics on nesting, eggs and lifespan based on BTO ringing and nest recording data.
