Smaller than an American robin, bigger than a tree swallow, the purple martin is the largest swallow in North America.
According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's web pages on martins, they are insect eaters, catching and devouring all their prey during the day and on the wing -- and at higher altitudes than other swallows, 150 feet and sometimes 500 feet or more off the ground.
"Because of this feeding behavior, mosquitoes are not a large part of their diet, contrary to popular belief," park interpreter Susan Adkins notes.
"When they encounter prey, they turn suddenly sideways or upward, speed up, and then flare their tails as they trap the insect," Cornell reports. "Their menu includes beetles, flies, dragonflies, damselflies, leafhoppers, grasshoppers, crickets, butterflies, moths, wasps, bees, caddisflies, spiders, cicadas, termites and mayflies."
Such insects have tough exoskeletons, so the martins pick up small bits of gravel to help them break up that crunchy chitin.
Martins also drink water on the wing, skimming the surface lightly and scooping water with the lower bill.
-- Celia Storey
ActiveStyle on 07/21/2014