Purple Martin
Purple Martin has declined: down 44% on the route-weighted index since 1968.
About the Purple Martin
The largest North American swallow, the Purple Martin in the East nests almost entirely in human-supplied colony houses and gourds.
- Size
- 7.5–8 in long, about 1.8 oz (19–20 cm, 50 g)
- Habitat
- Open airspace over fields, water and towns; nests in cavities, earthen banks or on structures.
- Diet
- Flying insects caught high on the wing.
- Range
- Recorded on 2,442 Breeding Bird Survey routes across 46 states, most concentrated in the Southeastern Coastal Plain.
- Family
- Hirundinidae · Aerial insectivores
- Conservation
- Least Concern
Notable Purple Martin Trends
No notable trend signals for Purple Martin. See the full index history below.
Purple Martin Population Forecast
If the recent trend holds, Purple Martin is projected to fall about 24% by 2029 — from 3.9 in 2024 to a central estimate of 3.0 (95% range 1.8–4.1). A 5-year backtest shows a typical error of ±9.1%, with 100% of held-out values landing inside the 95% band.
| Year | Projected index | 95% low | 95% high |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 3.1 | 1.9 | 4.3 |
| 2026 | 3.1 | 1.9 | 4.2 |
| 2027 | 3.0 | 1.8 | 4.2 |
| 2028 | 3.0 | 1.8 | 4.2 |
| 2029 | 3.0 | 1.8 | 4.1 |
Where the Purple Martin Is Detected
BBS routes recording Purple Martin, sized by most recent count.
Purple Martin Population Trend by State
| Alabama | -51% | 1968 | 108 |
| Arizona | +401% | 1970 | 30 |
| Arkansas | -78% | 1969 | 57 |
| California | -57% | 1970 | 53 |
| Colorado | +15% | 1988 | 25 |
| Connecticut | -22% | 1973 | 12 |
| Delaware | +962% | 1968 | 17 |
| Florida | -9% | 1968 | 117 |
| Georgia | -20% | 1968 | 110 |
| Illinois | -44% | 1968 | 100 |
| Indiana | +38% | 1968 | 64 |
| Iowa | -26% | 1969 | 35 |
| Kansas | +61% | 1969 | 48 |
| Kentucky | +73% | 1968 | 63 |
| Louisiana | -25% | 1969 | 100 |
| Maine | -60% | 1973 | 22 |
| Maryland | +79% | 1968 | 71 |
| Massachusetts | 13× | 1975 | 11 |
| Michigan | -92% | 1968 | 82 |
| Minnesota | -83% | 1969 | 68 |
| Mississippi | -55% | 1968 | 69 |
| Missouri | +118% | 1969 | 93 |
| Montana | insufficient data | n/a | 3 |
| Nebraska | +1% | 1969 | 27 |
| New Hampshire | -57% | 1968 | 7 |
| New Jersey | -58% | 1968 | 39 |
| New Mexico | -65% | 1970 | 21 |
| New York | -70% | 1968 | 66 |
| North Carolina | -15% | 1968 | 96 |
| North Dakota | +241% | 1969 | 31 |
| Ohio | -27% | 1968 | 80 |
| Oklahoma | -31% | 1969 | 58 |
| Oregon | +228% | 1973 | 24 |
| Pennsylvania | -58% | 1968 | 107 |
| Rhode Island | -6% | 1968 | 3 |
| South Carolina | -59% | 1968 | 50 |
| South Dakota | -52% | 1969 | 13 |
| Tennessee | +50% | 1968 | 52 |
| Texas | +8% | 1969 | 184 |
| Utah | -63% | 1973 | 16 |
| Vermont | -71% | 1969 | 8 |
| Virginia | -43% | 1968 | 65 |
| Washington | +74% | 1982 | 14 |
| West Virginia | -66% | 1968 | 37 |
| Wisconsin | -89% | 1968 | 84 |
| Wyoming | insufficient data | n/a | 2 |
Purple Martin Population Trend by Region
Bird Conservation Regions are the ecological unit for trends.
| Northern Pacific Rainforest | -13% | 1970 | 50 |
| Great Basin | -45% | 1982 | 12 |
| Northern Rockies | -44% | 1998 | 5 |
| Prairie Potholes | -34% | 1969 | 74 |
| Boreal Hardwood Transition | -98% | 1968 | 83 |
| Lower Great Lakes / St. Lawrence Plain | -31% | 1968 | 71 |
| Atlantic Northern Forest | -79% | 1968 | 38 |
| Southern Rockies / Colorado Plateau | -45% | 1970 | 51 |
| Shortgrass Prairie | -80% | 1977 | 13 |
| Central Mixed Grass Prairie | -11% | 1969 | 77 |
| Edwards Plateau | +391% | 1971 | 20 |
| Oaks and Prairies | +66% | 1969 | 74 |
| Eastern Tallgrass Prairie | -27% | 1968 | 259 |
| Prairie Hardwood Transition | -72% | 1968 | 143 |
| Central Hardwoods | +108% | 1968 | 164 |
| West Gulf Coastal Plain / Ouachitas | -61% | 1969 | 105 |
| Mississippi Alluvial Valley | +18% | 1968 | 70 |
| Southeastern Coastal Plain | -24% | 1968 | 340 |
| Appalachian Mountains | -64% | 1968 | 272 |
| Piedmont | -36% | 1968 | 167 |
| New England / Mid-Atlantic Coast | +94% | 1968 | 130 |
| Peninsular Florida | +39% | 1968 | 72 |
| Coastal California | +14% | 1971 | 29 |
| Sonoran and Mojave Deserts | -92% | 1977 | 6 |
| Sierra Madre Occidental | +170% | 1970 | 24 |
| Chihuahuan Desert | -11% | 1979 | 10 |
| Tamaulipan Brushlands | +142% | 1969 | 24 |
| Gulf Coastal Prairie | +53% | 1969 | 48 |
Purple Martin Conservation Status
Least Concern
The IUCN Red List rates this species as Least Concern. Our route-weighted index shows it down about 44% since 1968. Aerial insectivores have fallen sharply across the continent, a decline widely linked to dwindling insect prey.
Source: USGS North American Breeding Bird Survey, retrieved 2026-05-22. Trend is a route-weighted relative-abundance index, not an absolute population.