TROPIC and NEAR-TROPIC BIRD COLLECTION

Purple Martin "House" Purple Martins- Progne subis Purple Martins- Progne subis, Order PASSERIFORMES - Family HIRUNDINIDAE. Today was a wonderful birding day--temps in the high 70's, clear skies, and excellent lighting. I saw Purple Martins for the first time this year. These individuals were checking out this Purple Martin House. These birds were spotted on a very wonderful mid-April day in Shaker Trace Wetlands in the Miami Whitewater Forest area in SW Ohio. (Photo: April 16, 2004, Canon 10D, EF 400mm f/5.6 L USM, 1.4x teleconverter EF ll lens, manual focus) "The largest of the North American swallows, the Purple Martin is a popular tenant of backyard birdhouses. In fact, in eastern North America it has nested almost exclusively in nest boxes for more than 100 years. The Purple Martin not only gets all its food in flight, it gets all its water that way too. It skims the surface of a pond and scoops up the water with its lower bill." For More Species Info: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/programs/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Purple_Martin.html

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Photos Copyright R. Hays Cummins. Authorization required. For permission, contact bigbendwildlands@gmail.com

Sources of species identification and other amazing info include (1) Cornell Lab of Ornithology--a fantastic site; (2)Birds of Eastern and Central North America, Peterson Field Guide Series, Fifth Edition, Houghton Mifflin Company; (3) The National Audubon Society's Sibley Guide to Birds and (4) Field Guide to the Birds of North America, Third Edition, National Geographic, Washington, D.C.