Purple Martins
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Purple Martins eat thousands of flying insects a day. So it is no surprise that people would like them to live nearby! They are sociable birds and like to live in colonies of martins.
Martins are the only birds totally dependent on humans for housing. The houses should be erected during winter to attract birds for the nesting season. In addition to traditional martin houses, gourds are a great way to attract martins.
Purple Martin Condos:
- Beautiful & Functional Purple Martin Condos
- Fun Projects for Build-it-Yourself Enthusiasts:
The male scouts arrive first, then the females and younger birds follow one to two weeks later. When they arrive, they do not nest right away, as some believe. They will feed for several days, build up their strength from the long flight, and then search for the proper nesting site.
Late nesting (May) is very common for the martin, for two reasons. First, the young birds (last season's fledgings) need to settle down, mature and learn by observing the older birds. Second, birds disrupted during their first attempt to nest, due to improper housing or predators, will choose another site to nest.
Martins are sometimes difficult to attract. Well-shaded lawns with big trees are poor habitats. It may take a year or two to attract martins to a new house; don't get discouraged. If after two years you are still unsuccessful, try moving the house to a different location-sometimes 25 feet can make a difference.
Don't expect a nest in every room. Four nesting pairs in a 12-room house is good occupancy. Extra rooms are used for roosting and for young, preflight birds. Also, sparrows will likely fill a few vacancies. Before the martins are nesting, leave the sparrow nests alone to avoid disturbing the martins.
The Purple Martin (Progne subis) is the largest North American swallow at 20 cm length. Adults have a forked tail.
Adult males are a glossy dark purple, and adult females are dark on top with some purple on the back, and lighter underparts. Juveniles are greyish-brown above and whitish below, gaining some purple feathers by their first winter.
Their breeding habitat is open areas across eastern North America, and also some locations on the west coast from British Columbia to Mexico. This species typically breeds in colonies.
The eastern nominate race nests exclusively in man-made bird houses, of which about a million are provided. It is the only bird totally dependent on humans for nest sites. It is important to note that unmonitored Purple Martin houses often become breeding colonies for House Sparrows and Starlings - invasive species responsible for the decline of the Eastern Bluebird and Red-headed Woodpecker respectively. Purple Martins will not nest in such a site until the House Sparrows and Starlings are removed. In severe infestations, it is best to take down the Purple Martin house or plug the entrance holes.
The paler subspecies P. s. hesperia of Arizona and western Mexico uses only woodpecker holes in Saguaro and other large cacti, and the large pale west coast form P. s. arboricola utilises woodpecker and other natural cavities as well as nesting boxes and gourds.
The Purple Martin migrates to the Amazon basin in winter. The first record of this species in Europe was a single bird on Lewis, Scotland on 5-6 September 2004, and the second was on the Azores on 6 September 2004.
These birds hunt for insects in flight, although sometimes they will pick up insects off the ground. They usually fly relatively high, so, contrary to popular opinion, mosquitos do not form a large part of their diet.
The call is a gurgly tchew-tchew.
(Source: Wikipedia.org)
Related Web Resources: Purple Martin Conservation Association ... Purple Martins in Texas (Tracking migration) ... Purple Martin Site ... Birds of Nova Scotia
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