Purple Martin Bird tips!

Purple Martins have been called America’s favorite bird. Every season Purple Martins migrate across eastern North America starting in January from Brazil to breed. They depend on people like you to provide safe housing.  Here at the Purple Martin House, we’ll help you to find a house just right for you and help to maintain your Purple Martin colony year after year.  

The purple martin (Progne subis) is a migratory passerine bird that is typically found in North America and Central America. During the summer months, it can be found as far north as Canada, and during the winter it migrates to parts of the Caribbean, Central America, and South America. Purple martins typically inhabit open areas, such as pastures, meadows, parks, and farmland. During the breeding season, they build gourd-shaped nests and lay eggs in cavities, often in the top of a dead tree. Purple martins are social birds and often nest in large colonies. Purple martins migrate in the fall, often in large flocks, flying southward along the coast or inland. The birds travel great distances, some migrating thousands of miles to reach their wintering grounds. During the winter, they roost at night in flocks, often in reeds and other large vegetation.