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Purple Martins

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Ranked #1783 in Animals, #41607 overall

Rated G. (Control what you see)

Purple Martins

 

If there was a ten most wanted list for birds, Purple Martins would be on it. Over a million people in North America put up Martin houses in hopes of attracting a colony. If only it were so easy. Purple Martins are picky house hunters. If the house isn't perfect or the neighborhood not up to their specifications, they will look elsewhere.

The Purple Martin

Description 

The Purple Martin is the largest member of the swallow family in North America. It is a slender bird measuring 7 to 7 ½ inches in length. As with most swallows, it has long wings and a wide beak. The tail is forked but not deeply. The male Purple Martins appear to be black in most lighting, but on bright sunny days, its plumage appears to be a bluish-black. The females are lighter in color with a pale gray throat and belly. Young males resemble the adult female. Their adult plumage surfaces by their second breeding season.

Purple Martins 

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Purple Martins by Seabamirum

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White martin houses are more likely to attract Purple Martins than houses painted in another color. The white reflects the heat of the sun keeping the nestlings cooler.

Range 

Purple Martins can be found all over North America. They are a migratory bird and start arriving in their breeding grounds in early spring. They are a social bird and nest in large houses designed to hold multiple pairs. Purple Martins begin their southward migration within weeks of the fledglings leaving the nest. They gather in large flocks and slowly make their way to their winter grounds in South America.

Home Sweet Home

Mating and Nesting 

Purple Martins are monogamous. The male and female build the nest out of mud, grass and twigs. The female lays one egg a day for two to seven days. She incubates the eggs for approximately 15 days. Both the male and the female work together to feed the young until the fledge 26 to 32 days after hatching. The young will stay close to their parents for another couple of weeks as they learn to hunt.

The most common reason for Purple Martins to abandon a colony site is predation. An owl or hawk can wipe out a colony in a matter of days. One raid and the surviving birds will flee.

Location! Location! Location! 

Purple Martins are one of the few birds dependent of man-made nesting sites. Unless the situation changes drastically, the same martin house will be used by the group year after year.

They are particular. The house has to be out in the open, and at least 30 feet from human habitation. If there are trees nearby that are taller than the house, the flock will look for other habitation. Nor can there be vines or bushes growing around the base of the stand.

Another major requirement is water. The martins will look for a reliable supply of water nearby. A birdbath will not be sufficient. If you live along a lake or river, consider yourself lucky. Put the martin house on a pole at the end of the dock and you have a better chance of attracting martins than the rest of us.

The male arrives in the breeding grounds ahead of the females. He will select and defend several "rooms" until the female arrives and decides which one she wants.

Diet 

Purple Martins are aerial insectivores. Their diet is limited to flying insects which they catch in flight. Their diet includes butterflies, moths, grasshoppers, cicadas, bees, wasps, June bugs and of course, mosquitoes. The belief that a Purple Martin can eat 2,000 mosquitoes a day is true as well as false. They can eat 2,000 mosquitoes a day, but rarely do. A very small percentage of their diet consists of mosquitoes.

Purple Martins may be able to eat 2,000 mosquitoes a day, but rarely do. They prefer larger insects with a little more "meat" on them.

Voice 


The Purple Martin's call is a series of loud, gurgling notes. They are social birds and chatter back and forth.

Interesting Trivia 

1.The Purple Martin is a superb flyer. They alternate between short glides and rapid flapping. When in pursuit of an insect, they can readily change direction. When focused on its prey, it rarely looses its meal.

2.Nestlings are fed up to 60 times a day.

3.In isolated areas the Purple Martins may use their traditional nesting sites, abandoned woodpecker cavities, crevices along cliffs, and hollow trees.

4.Depended on insects for food, the Purple Martins are vulnerable to starvation during extended periods of cool/damp weather.

South Carolina Birder 

South Carolina Birder offers information on wild birds as well as an insight into birding in South Carolina.

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Resources used to construct this page. 

Dunn, J.L. & Alderfer, J., Editors. 2006. National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, Fifth Edition. National Geographic Society.

Peterson, T.P. & Peterson, V.M. 2002. Birds of Eastern and Central North America, Fifth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, New York, N.Y.

Cornell University Laboratory of Ornithology

Seattle Audubon Society

Purple Martins, Chipper Woods Observatory
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ElizabethJeanAllen

About ElizabethJeanAllen

Before I sat down to update my bio, I took a look at my list of lenses. They are as varied as the students in my classroom. Can one be passionate about so many different things?

The poster on the wall of my classroom sums it up nicely. We learn from the Past, Live in the Present, and Plan for the Future. My passion is writing, but I am first and foremost a teacher. The past is full of fascinating people like Benjamin Franklin and Annie Oakley, and there are slices in time that have molded our society into what it is today. Where we came from is every bit as important as where we are going.

We live in the present. Stepping out my back door and spotting a Cardinal or Purple Finch fluttering around my bird feeder, or a Hummingbird winging its way through my flower garden, is bound to bring a smile to my face. Stress doesn't stand a chance against the simple pleasure gleaned from an hour on the back porch watching the birds. When I glance up and spot a Red-tailed Hawk circling high in the sky, I am reminded of the scope and depth of this wonderful world we live in.

Looking ahead, we plan for the future. We live in a beautiful world, but I see the mistakes my generation and the generations before me have made. Much of The Water Around Us is polluted, no longer fit for human consumption. We bury our trash and send smoke and fumes fluttering through the atmosphere. How long can we turn a blind-eye and pretend the problems don't exist?

The Past, the Present, and the Future. All three have shaped me into what I am today. I laugh and I play, I read and I learn. Check out my lenses for surely parts of my heart and soul are hidden within.

I have four lenographys, one for my backyard birds, Busy Lizzy's Backyard Birds, one for my birds of prey, Busy Lizzy's Birds of Prey, one for my Aquatic Birds Busy Lizzy's Aquatic Birds, and one for the rest of my lenses, Busy Lizzy's Lenses. Check them out and let me know what you think.

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