Photo © by luisrock62
Buenos Aires, Argentina, October 2004
- Progne chalybea
Identification
16–18 cm
Upperparts are shiny metallic dark blue while the throat and middle of the breast are grayish-brown and the belly and crissum are white.
Variation
There is a large variation in the color of the underside, from individuals that look almost white to some with much and widespread grey-brown. Beyond what can be seen on this page, look for variation in the images in the Birdforum gallery (link below).
Distribution
The Gray-breasted Martin is distributed from Central America through most of South America south to central Argentina but excluding the Andes south of Colombia.
Accidental vagrant to Texas (two 19th century records).
Taxonomy
Subspecies
This species has three subspecies[1]:
- P. c. warneri:
- Coastal western Mexico (Sinaloa to Chiapas)
- P. c. chalybea:
- P. c. macrorhamphus: the subspecies which averages whitest on the underside
Habitat
It is found in towns and semi-open areas especially near water.
Behaviour
Breeding
Nests in crevices and under the eaves of houses.
Diet
Their main diet appears to be flying ants, butterflies and moths.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Lagasse, B. (2020). Gray-breasted Martin (Progne chalybea), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.gybmar.01
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Gray-breasted Martin. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 3 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Gray-breasted_Martin
External Links
- An identification essay comparing Caribbean Martin with Gray-breasted Martin
