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Grey-breasted martin

Grey-breasted martin
In the Darien Province, Panama
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Hirundinidae
Genus:	Progne
Species:	P. chalybea
Binomial name
Progne chalybea (Gmelin, 1789)

The grey-breasted martin (Progne chalybea) is a large swallow from Central and South America.

Taxonomy and etymology

The subspecies and their distributions are:^[2]

• P. c. chalybea – (Gmelin, 1789): nominate, breeds from Mexico through Central America south to central Brazil, and on Trinidad
• P. c. warneri – Phillips, A.R., 1986: found in western Mexico
• P. c. macrorhamphus – Brooke, 1974: breeds further south in South America to central Argentina

The southern subspecies migrates north as far as Venezuela during the southern hemisphere's winter, and the nominate form also undertakes local movements after the breeding season.

Description

Adult grey-breasted martins are 18 cm (7.1 in) in length, with a forked tail and relatively broad wings, and weigh 39 g (1.4 oz). Adult males are a glossy blue-black with the grey-brown throat, breast and sides contrasting with the white lower underparts. Females are duller than the male, and juveniles have dull brown upperparts.

Behaviour

Breeding

The grey-breasted martin nests in cavities in banks and buildings, or old woodpecker holes. Normally, two to four eggs are laid in the lined nest, and incubated for 15–16 days, with another 22 days to fledging.

Diet

Grey-breasted martins are gregarious birds that hunt for insects in flight. Their call is a gurgly chew-chew, similar to that of the closely related Caribbean martin. The latter species is slightly larger, and has more contrasting underparts.

References

Further reading

• Turner, Angela; Rose, Chris (1989). Swallows & Martins: An Identification Guide and Handbook. Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 978-0395511749.
• Hilty, Steven L. (2003). Birds of Venezuela. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-7136-6418-5.
• ffrench, Richard; O'Neill, John Patton; Eckelberry, Don R. (1991). A Guide to the Birds of Trinidad and Tobago (2nd ed.). Ithaca, N.Y.: Comstock Publishing. ISBN 0-8014-9792-2.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Progne chalybea.

Wikispecies has information related to Progne chalybea.

• BirdLife species factsheet for Progne chalybea
• "Grey-breasted martin media". Internet Bird Collection.
• Gray-breasted martin photo gallery at VIREO (Drexel University)
• Gray-breasted martin species account at Neotropical Birds (Cornell Lab of Ornithology)
• Interactive range map of Progne chalybeaatIUCN Red List maps
• Audio recordings of Grey-breasted martinonXeno-canto.

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