The Cuban martin (''Progne cryptoleuca'') is a large

swallow The swallows, martins, and saw-wings, or Hirundinidae, are a family of passerine songbirds found around the world on all continents, including occasionally in Antarctica. Highly adapted to aerial feeding, they have a distinctive appearance. The ...

endemic to Cuba. It is closely related to the

Caribbean martin The Caribbean martin or white-bellied martin (''Progne dominicensis'') is a large swallow. It has at various times been considered alternatively as a race of the purple martin, ''Progne subis''. Distribution It breeds throughout the Caribbean ...

(''P. dominicensis''), which breeds on Caribbean islands from

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispan ...

east to

Tobago Tobago () is an island and ward within the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located northeast of the larger island of Trinidad and about off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. It also lies to the southeast of Grenada. The offici ...

, and the

Sinaloa martin The Sinaloa martin (''Progne sinaloae'') is a species of bird in the family Hirundinidae. This large and poorly-documented swallow is occasionally considered to be a subspecies of the Caribbean martin, ''Progne dominicensis''. It breeds semicolo ...

(''P. sinaloae''), which breeds in Mexico. It has at various times been considered alternatively as a race of the

purple martin The purple martin (''Progne subis'') is a passerine bird in the swallow family Hirundinidae. It is the largest swallow in North America. Despite its name, the purple martin is not truly purple. The dark blackish-blue feathers have an iridescent ...

, ''Progne subis''.

Description

Adult Cuban martins are 18.5 cm in length, with a forked tail and relatively broad wings, and weigh 40 g. Adult males are a glossy blue-black with contrasting white lower underparts. Females and juveniles are duller than the male, with grey-brown breast and flanks and white lower underparts. Adult male Cuban martins can be distinguished from adult male Caribbean martins by their dark bellies: Caribbean martins have a prominent white patch on theirs. Adult females and immatures aren't as easily distinguished. On the other hand, adult male Cuban martins and Purple martins cannot be reliably distinguished in the field. Adult female and immature Purple martins have a scaly breast pattern which can be used to distinguish the two species. Unlike these two similar species, the Cuban martin is endemic to Cuba and Isla de la Juventud. Purple martins and Caribbean martins are migratory species that are only present in the Cuban martin's range during winter.

Behavior

The Cuban martin nests in cavities in banks and buildings, or old

woodpecker Woodpeckers are part of the bird family Picidae, which also includes the piculets, wrynecks, and sapsuckers. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar, and the extreme polar region ...

holes. 3-6 eggs are laid in the lined nest, and incubated for 15 days, with another 26–27 to fledging. Just as the purple martin, this species may compete with other passerines for nesting cavities. In particular, the main foe is the

house sparrow The house sparrow (''Passer domesticus'') is a bird of the sparrow family Passeridae, found in most parts of the world. It is a small bird that has a typical length of and a mass of . Females and young birds are coloured pale brown and grey, an ...

in urban areas, where they mostly use man-made structures, whereas in more rural locations ''

Picidae Woodpeckers are part of the bird family Picidae, which also includes the piculets, wrynecks, and sapsuckers. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar, and the extreme polar region ...

'' holes in

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or ...

trees are favored, and there is less competition with the sparrows. Cuban martins are gregarious birds which hunt for

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

s in flight. They are often found in large, sometimes mixed flocks of up to 20 birds. Their call is a gurgly ''chew-chew''. Despite being considered endemic to Cuba and Isla de la Juventud, occasional vagrant individuals have been reported in Florida.

References

* *Gill, F and D Donsker (Eds). 2010. IOC World Bird Names (version 2.7). Available a

Accessed January 15, 2011. Progne Birds of Cuba Birds of the Caribbean Cuban martin Cuban martin {{Hirundinidae-stub