Western Bird Guide: Birds of the Rockies and West to the Pacific

by Charles K. Reed

WESTERN MARTIN.

611a. Progne subis hesperia. 8½ inches.

The male of this is not to be distinguished from the eastern Purple Martin, and in the female a lighter gray on the forehead is the only difference. They nest in cavities of trees or in boxes provided for them in the cities and towns, both in the east and west, as they are to be found breeding throughout the United States and into British Columbia. They make their nests of twigs, roots and mud, usually lined with feathers, and lay from four to six white eggs (.95 × .65).