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How To Identify Purple Martins

One of the most common questions we get is how to identify purple martins. Here are some tips.

Purple martin bills are dark. Birds with yellow bills are starlings.
Purple martins can most easily be identified by their flight... martins glide more than flapping their wings like other birds; martins rarely land on the ground except when gathering nesting material; and martins will not usually fly off the house when humans approach because they're a semi-domesticated bird that enjoys being near human activity.
Their unique chatter has a "click" sound that sets them apart from other songbirds.
Adult male martins are all iridescent black while immature males and mature females are lighter breasted.

Below is a photo of martins on an MSS-12 martin safety system house. We hope this makes it easier for you to identify purple martins.