Grey-breasted Martin (Progne chalybea) | Photos, Calls and ID

LCLeast ConcernInvertebrates

ShrublandCavity nestSmall · 43 g

Grey-breasted Martin (Progne chalybea), photo 1 — Photo: (c) Esteban Poveda, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Esteban Poveda · cc-by

What the Grey-breasted Martin sounds like

Sonogram of the Grey-breasted Martin: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.

Recorded by Gean Carlo Valdés · Call, flight call · Islas secas, Panama · CC0 · via xeno-canto

Recorded by Gean Carlo Valdés · Flight call · Islas secas, Panama · CC0 · via xeno-canto

Recorded by Gean Carlo Valdés · Call, song · Islas secas, Panama · CC0 · via xeno-canto

ID tip

The grey-breasted martin is 16–18 cm (6.3–7.1 in) in length and weighs 33–50 g (1.2–1.8 oz). It has a forked tail and relatively broad wings. The adult male is glossy blue-black with the grey-brown throat, breast and sides contrasting with the white lower underparts. The female is duller than the male with a paler throat; the juveniles have dull brown upperparts.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Grey-breasted Martin

One bar for each month, and every month is filled: this bird is recorded here in all twelve. The wide bar is October, the month with the most records.

Where to see the Grey-breasted Martin

Regular rangeRare visitor

The map shades 22 countries with regular records, and 2 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

Recorded as a rare visitor in United States, Chile.

About the Grey-breasted Martin

The grey-breasted martin is a large swallow from Central and South America.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

Brown-chested MartinProgne taperaThe brown-chested martin is 16 to 18 cm (6.3 to 7.1 in) long and weighs 30 to 40 g (1.1 to 1.4 oz).

Southern MartinProgne elegansThe southern martin is 17 to 20 cm (6.7 to 7.9 in) long.

Caribbean MartinProgne dominicensisAdult Caribbean martins are 18.5 cm in length, with a forked tail and relatively broad wings, and weigh 40 g.

Side by side: Grey-breasted Martin vs Purple Martin · Brown-chested Martin vs Grey-breasted Martin · Grey-breasted Martin vs Southern Martin · Caribbean Martin vs Grey-breasted Martin

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