How to Use purple martin in a Sentence

purple martin

noun
  • The purple martin is, to the untrained eye, merely a bird.
    — Ana Gutierrez, Austin American Statesman, 7 Aug. 2025
  • The purple martin young are emerging from their apartment nests.
    — Calvin Finch, ExpressNews.com, 9 July 2020
  • The drop in fat could affect when purple martins are able to reproduce.
    — Jill Langlois, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Feb. 2023
  • People who host purple martin colonies are taking action to keep their neighbors alive.
    — Meg Jones, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 17 Apr. 2018
  • While many other birds prefer to nest alone, purple martins are the exception.
    — Brandi Fuller, Better Homes & Gardens, 17 May 2023
  • Birds that forage for insects during flight, such as swallows and purple martins, also leave the sky.
    — Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY, 3 Mar. 2024
  • Refreshments will be available, and, a drawing will be held for two purple martin bird houses to be given away.
    — cleveland, 7 Mar. 2022
  • The purple martins’ presence here is a fleeting segment of a much larger narrative.
    — Ana Gutierrez, Austin American Statesman, 7 Aug. 2025
  • Folks with houses for purple martins have reported visits by small groups of the interesting birds.
    — Calvin Finch, ExpressNews.com, 27 Feb. 2020
  • Last year was a tough year for purple martin families in our area because of the difficult weather conditions.
    — Calvin Finch, San Antonio Express-News, 10 Mar. 2023
  • Bluebirds prefer to nest at the edge of vegetation, while purple martins like plenty of open space for swooping into the nest.
    — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 10 June 2026
  • An effective strategy is to put up a purple martin apartment complex on a pole about 14 feet in the air in an open part of your yard.
    — Calvin Finch, San Antonio Express-News, 4 Mar. 2022
  • Two early barn swallows were reported in Chatham and a very early purple martin was in Mashpee.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 5 Apr. 2023
  • By the middle of May, there are usually more than 100 purple martins at Nikolai's colony.
    — Meg Jones, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 17 Apr. 2018
  • Usually the purple martin will tolerate the intervention and the starling may leave.
    — Calvin Finch, ExpressNews.com, 27 Feb. 2020
  • But purple martins—shimmery, blackish-bluish swallows native to North America—just can’t get enough.
    — Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 17 Oct. 2023
  • Such species include the scarlet tanager, purple martin and Baltimore oriole.
    — Paul A. Smith, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 14 May 2022
  • Others, like purple martins, Carolina wrens, and white-breasted nuthatches, will use nesting boxes that are specially designed for them.
    — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 10 June 2026
  • Above the relentless glare of a Discount Tire parking lot in Round Rock, the skies become a stage for the nightly roost of thousands of purple martins.
    — Ana Gutierrez, Austin American Statesman, 7 Aug. 2025
  • By late June, your purple martin community will have produced their young for the year and the new and old generations will organize for their migration back to Brazil.
    — Calvin Finch, San Antonio Express-News, 19 Feb. 2021
  • The purple martins that nested in the San Antonio area have assembled and begun their trip to South America for the winter.
    — Calvin Finch, ExpressNews.com, 2 Aug. 2019
  • Recent research has revealed that purple martins rely on larger insects for their food, including dragonflies; and dragonflies eat many more mosquitoes than martins do.
    — Calvin Finch, San Antonio Express-News, 10 Mar. 2023
  • Allowed to mature, it can be hollowed out to make vessels, utensils, musical instruments, and birdhouses (especially purple martin houses).
    — Rita Pelczar, Better Homes & Gardens, 8 Sep. 2023
  • This scenic bayside village between Newport and Providence is home to intriguing species such as the wading willet and the iridescent purple martin, depending on the season.
    — Alexandra Marvar, Travel + Leisure, 27 Aug. 2023
  • DeLuca lists the great crested flycatcher, prothonotary warbler, chickadees, nuthatches, Eastern bluebirds, tree swallows, and purple martins as among birds that will nest in a hollow or snag.
    — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 30 May 2026
  • Birdhouses and bird feeders are so thoroughly part of human culture that purple martins in eastern North America nest almost exclusively in houses made by humans.
    — Emma Marris, The Atlantic, 8 Mar. 2023
  • The retailer Wild Birds Unlimited is also a useful source of information on setting up and managing purple martin housing.
    — Calvin Finch, San Antonio Express-News, 19 Feb. 2021

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'purple martin.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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