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Martin, any of several swallows belonging to the family Hirundinidae (order Passeriformes). In America the name refers to the purple martin (Progne subis) and its four tropical relatives—at 20 cm (8 inches) long, the largest American swallows.
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.
The swallows, martins, and saw-wings, or Hirundinidae are a family of passerine songbirds found around the world on all continents, including occasionally in Antarctica. Highly adapted to aerial feeding, they have a distinctive appearance. The term "swallow" is used as the common name for Hirundo rustica in the UK [1] and Ireland. [2] .
Learn how to identify swifts, swallows and martins. These birds are all summer visitors to the UK. Here's how you can find the difference between a swift and a swallow or work out what kind of martin you could have spotted!
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.
Put up a Purple Martin house in your backyard, and you just might be treated to a close-up look at these engaging birds all through the breeding season. Attach a guard to keep predators from raiding eggs and young.
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.
