Birds Identified: Purple Martin
You can search Google Images for images of this bird.
Purple Martin has these characteristics:
- Still perching
- Continuous flying
- Smaller than robin
- Tail forked
- Mostly blackish, or dark gray, bluish black, etc.
- Blue or bright green (not dull green)
- Underparts plain
- North summer (June through August)
- South summer (June through August)
- Field habitat
- Marsh habitat
- Flats or beach habitat
- Continuous flying high (near or above treetops when flying)
- Continuous flying low (below treetops when flying)
- Perched high (generally above middle of trees when perched or foraging)
- Perched low (generally below middle of trees when perched or foraging)
- Soaring flight (gliding or circling on set wings)
- Zig zag flight (many irregular twists and turns)
- Occurs in flocks (from 4 or 5 to thousands)
- Smooth, clear calls (can be imitated by human singing voice or whistling)
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Eric Haines,
erich@acm.org