The Purple Martin (Progne subis) is the largest North American sw*llow. These aerial acrobats have speed & agility in flight, & when approaching their housing, will dive from the sky at great speeds with their wings tucked. The average length from bill to tail is 20 cm. Adults have a slightly forked tail. Adult males are entirely black with glossy steel blue sheen, the only sw*llow in North America with such coloration. Adult females are dark on top with some steel blue sheen, & lighter underparts. Subadult females look similar to adult females minus the steel blue sheen and browner on the back. Subadult males look very much like females, but solid black feathers emerge on their chest in a blotchy, random pattern as they molt to their adult plumage. Their breeding habitat is open areas across eastern North America, & also some locations on the west coast from British Columbia to Mexico. Martins make their nests in cavities, either natural or artificial.3 to 6 eggs are laid, & the female is the main incubator, with some help from the male. Purple Martins are generally known to raise only a single brood. Fledging, when the young leave the nest, occurs at about one month, after which the parent continue to feed the fledgling young. The Purple Martin migrates to the Amazon basin in winter. Its winter range extends into Ecuador but does not seem to ascend far up the Andean foothills. Purple Martins are aerial insectivores, meaning that they catch insects from the air. The birds are agile hunters & eat a variety of winged insects. Purple Martins are fairly noisy, chirping and making sounds that have been described as chortles, rattles, & croaks. The various calls are said to be throaty & rich & can be rendered as tchew-wew, pew pew, choo, cher, zweet & zwrack. The males have a gurgling & guttural courtship song, a dawn song, & even a subsong used at the end of the breeding season. Tapes of Purple Martin song are sold to attract martins to newly established birdhouses.