Purple Martin

The Purple Martin is the largest member of the swallow family and an aerial acrobatic extraordinaire. Males are an iridescent dark blue-purple in color, with dark brown to black wings. Females and immature birds are a duller color, with variable amounts of grey on the chest and belly. Their calls are a series of beeps, chirps, trills and whistles. 

Female (left) and male (right) Purple Martin. Image courtesy of Alex Eberts of Macaulay Library

Video of vocalization calls courtesy of Purple Martin Conservation on YouTube

Purple Martins are amazing insectivores, eating mostly flying insects and hunting at heights sometimes 500 feet or above. It is estimated one Purple Martin can eat up to 2000 insects in one day! While they do eat a lot of insects, they mainly eat termites, beetles, dragonflies and damselflies. 

Image by Michael J. Cohen courtesy of Birds and Blooms

Purple Martins are commonly found in North America, mostly to the East of the Rocky Mountains. They migrate long distances and spend the winter in South America, and are often among the first migrants to return in the spring.

Range map courtesy of Allaboutbirds.org

These birds are colony nesters, ranging in size from two breeding pairs to over 350. They do well in urban areas because many people offer nest boxes for their colonies. They can have one to two broods of 3-6 eggs per year. Eggs are incubated for 15-18 days and hatchlings remain in the nest up to an amazing 36 days after hatching. After leaving the nest, young birds become independent quickly, learning to forage and fend for themselves.

Image by Andrew Dreelin for Macaulay Library. Courtesy of allaboutbirds.org

If you are looking for Purple Martins in the St. Louis area, the Audubon Center at Riverlands has a thriving colony living next to their Visitor Center.