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Purple Martin (Progne subis)
(c) B. Phalan, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by B. Phalan · CC BY 4.0 (opens in a new tab) · iNaturalist (opens in a new tab)
BirdsIn Ohio

Purple Martin

Progne subis (Linnaeus, 1758)

Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Aves
Order
Passeriformes
Family
Hirundinidae
Genus
Progne
We remember your county on this device only, until you clear it. Your ZIP code, city or location never leaves your device.

Range

Where it is recorded

Season shown in 1 of Ohio's 88 counties. Its mapped range covers 88. Explore Ohio

  • No result yet (0)
  • Within its mapped range (29)
  • Recorded, too few records for a result (53)
  • Recorded, season not shown (5)
  • Season shown (1)
Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Cartographic Boundary Files, 1:500,000. Range: USGS Gap Analysis Project, Species Range Maps CONUS_2001 (2018). Show as a table
Counties as a table
Purple Martin by Ohio county: records and mapped range
CountyRecordsIn mapped range
Adams CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: summer
Allen CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: summer
Ashland CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: summer
Ashtabula CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: summer
Athens CountyNo qualifying records yetYes: summer
Auglaize CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: summer
Belmont CountyNo qualifying records yetYes: summer
Brown CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: summer
Butler CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: summer
Carroll CountyNo qualifying records yetYes: summer
Champaign CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: summer
Clark CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: summer
Clermont CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: summer
Clinton CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: summer
Columbiana CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: summer
Coshocton CountyNo qualifying records yetYes: summer
Crawford CountyNo qualifying records yetYes: summer
Cuyahoga County26 · Recorded, season not shownYes: summer
Darke CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: summer
Defiance CountyNo qualifying records yetYes: summer
Delaware CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: summer
Erie CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: summer
Fairfield CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: summer
Fayette CountyNo qualifying records yetYes: summer
Franklin CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: summer
Fulton CountyNo qualifying records yetYes: summer
Gallia CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: summer
Geauga CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: summer
Greene CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: summer
Guernsey CountyNo qualifying records yetYes: summer
Hamilton CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: summer
Hancock CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: summer
Hardin CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: summer
Harrison CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: summer
Henry CountyNo qualifying records yetYes: summer
Highland CountyNo qualifying records yetYes: summer
Hocking CountyNo qualifying records yetYes: summer
Holmes CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: summer
Huron CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: summer
Jackson CountyNo qualifying records yetYes: summer
Jefferson CountyNo qualifying records yetYes: summer
Knox CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: summer
Lake County51 · Recorded, season not shownYes: summer
Lawrence CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: summer
Licking CountyNo qualifying records yetYes: summer
Logan CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: summer
Lorain County29 · Recorded, season not shownYes: summer
Lucas County29 · Recorded, season not shownYes: summer
Madison CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: summer
Mahoning CountyNo qualifying records yetYes: summer
Marion CountyNo qualifying records yetYes: summer
Medina CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: summer
Meigs CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: summer
Mercer CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: summer
Miami CountyNo qualifying records yetYes: summer
Monroe CountyNo qualifying records yetYes: summer
Montgomery CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: summer
Morgan CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: summer
Morrow CountyNo qualifying records yetYes: summer
Muskingum CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: summer
Noble CountyNo qualifying records yetYes: summer
Ottawa County118 · Season shownYes: summer
Paulding CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: summer
Perry CountyNo qualifying records yetYes: summer
Pickaway CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: summer
Pike CountyNo qualifying records yetYes: summer
Portage CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: summer
Preble CountyNo qualifying records yetYes: summer
Putnam CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: summer
Richland CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: summer
Ross CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: summer
Sandusky CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: summer
Scioto CountyNo qualifying records yetYes: summer
Seneca CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: summer
Shelby CountyNo qualifying records yetYes: summer
Stark CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: summer
Summit County63 · Recorded, season not shownYes: summer
Trumbull CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: summer
Tuscarawas CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: summer
Union CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: summer
Van Wert CountyNo qualifying records yetYes: summer
Vinton CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: summer
Warren CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: summer
Washington CountyNo qualifying records yetYes: summer
Wayne CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: summer
Williams CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: summer
Wood CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: summer
Wyandot CountyNo qualifying records yetYes: summer

Season

When it is recorded

In Ohio

Mid-April to mid-August, middle week May 31 – Jun 6

Show over the bars
Recording in Ohio · records of all species each week, 1,691,199 in all

Records per week from 783 records in 10 of the 10 years from 2016 to 2025. Shows when people recorded it, not how common it is. The grey bars show how many records of all species were made here each week, so you can see when recording itself was high or low; the season is not adjusted by them.

Recorded on 452 dates. Latest record: September 2025.

Show as a table
Records of Purple Martin in Ohio each week, and records of all species
WeekRecords of Purple MartinYears recordedRecords of all species
Jan 4–10006,211
Jan 11–17005,146
Jan 18–24004,645
Jan 25–31004,698
Feb 1–7006,023
Feb 8–14005,888
Feb 15–21005,436
Feb 22–28006,846
Mar 1–7008,321
Mar 8–140010,384
Mar 15–210012,620
Mar 22–280013,949
Mar 29 – Apr 42219,661
Apr 5–1110526,860
Apr 12–1817739,925
Apr 19–25361041,623
Apr 26 – May 236856,391
May 3–949852,952
May 10–16991053,785
May 17–23731057,698
May 24–3045854,651
May 31 – Jun 6331053,099
Jun 7–1326853,700
Jun 14–2032956,625
Jun 21–2739955,361
Jun 28 – Jul 421858,477
Jul 5–1125861,336
Jul 12–1834764,722
Jul 19–2534969,753
Jul 26 – Aug 147759,416
Aug 2–833559,712
Aug 9–1531955,994
Aug 16–2237854,328
Aug 23–2913651,772
Aug 30 – Sep 56457,167
Sep 6–122259,075
Sep 13–191154,543
Sep 20–261145,860
Sep 27 – Oct 31143,180
Oct 4–100037,841
Oct 11–170030,824
Oct 18–240021,156
Oct 25–310019,021
Nov 1–70014,172
Nov 8–140012,621
Nov 15–21007,965
Nov 22–28008,136
Nov 29 – Dec 5006,083
Dec 6–12006,004
Dec 13–19005,423
Dec 20–26005,661
Dec 27 – Jan 2008,459

What these results show

These results show when people recorded a species, not when or where it occurs. Missing weeks and low counts do not mean absence or scarcity, and counts are not abundance. Contributed records reflect where, when and what people chose to observe.

Identification

How to identify it

Telling it apart

From what Ohio’s records show. Only what the records support is shown.

Often confused with

  • Northern Rough-winged Swallow Stelgidopteryx serripennisOften confused in Ohio: 11 identifications in Ohio named one where the other was meant
  • Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica118 identifications worldwide named one where the other was meant
  • Tree Swallow Tachycineta bicolor113 identifications worldwide named one where the other was meant
  • European Starling Sturnus vulgaris45 identifications worldwide named one where the other was meant
  • Cliff Swallow Petrochelidon pyrrhonota24 identifications worldwide named one where the other was meant

From iNaturalist’s similar-species counts, refreshed monthly: confusions in Ohio first, then worldwide. Only species with an Ohio result are listed.

Months not reported

  1. Jan: no record
  2. Feb: no record
  3. Mar: recorded
  4. Apr: recorded
  5. May: recorded
  6. Jun: recorded
  7. Jul: recorded
  8. Aug: recorded
  9. Sep: recorded
  10. Oct: no record
  11. Nov: no record
  12. Dec: no record

Not reported in Ohio in October to February, 2016 to 2025.

Land cover where it is recorded

Land coverIts recordsAll Ohio records
Developed59%49%
Wetland16%5%
Farmland14%11%
Forest4%31%
Open water4%3%
Barren1%0.6%
Grassland and shrub1%0.9%

From 279 records placed within 100 m, beside all Ohio records placed the same way. People record where they go, so this shows where records come from, not where the species lives. Land cover: USGS Annual NLCD, 2025 (opens in a new tab)

Finer identifications

Some Ohio records of this species were identified to a subspecies:

  • Progne subis subisEastern Purple Martinsubspecies

Every one of these records counts toward the Purple Martin's season above.

Why some records go further than species

Many species vary from place to place. Groups of a species that look or sound a little different, and live in different areas, can be named as subspecies. Observers and experts only identify a record that far when it shows enough detail to tell them apart. Records without that detail count at the species level.

Names: Catalogue of Life.

Sources

Where these results come from

  • Records from iNaturalist research-grade observations and expert-identified GBIF datasets, CC0, CC BY and CC BY-NC. Sources
  • Seasons use the published method and its evidence thresholds. Methods
  • See it on iNaturalist (opens in a new tab)OpenPhenology is independent and not affiliated with iNaturalist.

Records behind the Ohio result

783 records from 2 datasets.

To cite: the GBIF download doi:10.15468/dl.y2jkt8 (opens in a new tab).

A spreadsheet (CSV) with a link to each record, on iNaturalist or GBIF. Records whose location was hidden by the observer or the source are counted but not linked.