''Progne'' is a genus of passerine birds in the swallow family Hirundinidae. The species are found in the New World and all have "martin" in their common name.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Progne'' was introduced in 1826 by the German zoologist Friedrich Boie for 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 s ...

. The genus name refers to Procne (Πρόκνη), a

mythological Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...

girl who was turned into a swallow to save her from her husband. She had killed their son to avenge the rape of her sister. The genus contains nine species:

References

Hirundinidae Bird genera {{Hirundinidae-stub