The Sinaloa martin (''Progne sinaloae'') is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

in the family

Hirundinidae 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 ...

. This large and poorly-documented swallow is occasionally considered to be a subspecies of 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 ...

, ''Progne dominicensis''. It breeds semicolonially in sheer cliff faces within pine-oak forests of the

Sierra Madre Occidental The Sierra Madre Occidental is a major mountain range system of the North American Cordillera, that runs northwest–southeast through northwestern and western Mexico, and along the Gulf of California. The Sierra Madre is part of the American ...

of western Mexico, nesting in cavities. Presumed migrant records also come from

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wa ...

and Guatemala. It is assumed to winter in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the souther ...

; however, this is not known with certainty.

Description

Adult males have dark iridescent blue-black feathers with a contrasting white patch covering the belly to the vent, much like the related Caribbean martin. However, its reproductive situation and different habitat preference supports its status as a species. The adult female and immature form of the Sinaloa martin are very similar to related ''

Progne ''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 Fr ...

'' species such as the Cuban martin,

, and

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 ...

Status

The range and status of this bird are generally poorly understood, and the species is considered to be rare. However, it has been shown that the Sinaloa martin continues to occupy its historical range. The lack of focus by both scientists and hobby birdwatchers has led to very little data being available to make meaningful population estimates, or to properly document population trends over time. Unlike what has been occurring with related species such as the purple martin and the Cuban martin, competition for nesting sites with invasive

European starling The common starling or European starling (''Sturnus vulgaris''), also known simply as the starling in Great Britain and Ireland, is a medium-sized passerine bird in the starling family, Sturnidae. It is about long and has glossy black plumage ...

s (''Sturnus vulgaris'') and

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 ...

s (''Passer domesticus'') is not likely a significant risk to the Sinaloa martin's population as these invasive species have not become established in this species' breeding range.

References

Progne Birds of Mexico Birds of the Sierra Madre Occidental Birds described in 1898 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Hirundinidae-stub