Purple Martins are a gorgeous backyard bird. They are the largest type of swallow in North America. Males have dark purple bodies, with darker (black) wings. Females (and young Purple Martins) have similar coloring as the males, except they have a gray or white underbelly. People are fond of the Purple Martin’s pleasant “twittering” sound. People also love the Purple Martins because their diet consists primarily on insects! This means that Purple Martins will decrease the number of bugs in your backyard!
The male Purple Martins should have already arrived to your backyard – they migrate north in April before the females. If you want to attract Purple Martins to your backyard, you should put large bird houses in your backyard specifically designed for Purple Martins. Purple Martins live in colonies, so the bigger the house the better! They also like to live near bodies of water, so if you have a pond or lake near your home you will be more likely to attract Purple Martins.
Speaking of large bird homes, Purple Martins love apartment-like dwellings with many tiers like the 12-Apartment Aluminum Purple Martin House, pictured to the right. The 12-Apartment Aluminum Purple Martin House is made of lightweight aluminum material, and has cute porch rails and door stops. Another apartment-like bird house is the 12 Room Redwood Purple Martin House. Your backyard Purple Martins will love the 12 Room Redwood Purple Martin House so much they will remember to come back year after year!
An interesting fact about Purple Martins is that Indians used to attract them by hanging hallowed out gourds from trees. Purple Martins would nest and mate in these gourds. You can purchase gourd shaped bird houses that will attract Purple Martins. The Easy Clean Deluxe Purple Martin Gourd is made of durable plastic, and even has a drainage hole in the bottom to keep Purple Martins nice and dry. The Easy Clean Deluxe Purple Martin Gourd can be hung by itself, or can be hung with other gourds on a gourd pole like the Telescoping Galvanized Steel Purple Martin Gourd Pole.