Glossary of Terms
Altricial: Refers to nestling birds that are naked and helpless when they first hatch. Purple Martins fall into this category.
ASY: After Second Year. This refers to martins in their 3rd calendar year of life. The first year, they were hatchlings. The second year, they were subadults (plumage different from adults) that bred, or attempted to breed, for the first time. The third calendar year and after the martins take on adult plumage (males all black and females exhibiting several gray feathers on the undertail coverts).
Dawnsong: After a pair of martins have completed their nest and the female is about to lay her eggs, adult males begin what is called dawnsinging. It usually occurs in the pre-dawn hours of the morning and the male martins soar hundreds of feet above the colony site singing a very loud and liquid song similar to their normal "chortle" song but with less harshness. The sound of the song carries for many miles. It is believed that the adult males are attempting to attract subadult martins to their colony site in an effort to attempt extra-pair copulations with subadult females. Recordings of the Purple Martin Dawnsong are used as a powerful attraction device when starting new colonies.
DE: Diatomaceous Earth. An environmentally friendly way of controlling nest parasites is to sprinkle some diatomaceous earth powder around the perimeter of the nest. DE is the exoskeleton remains of freshwater diatoms. The DE creates microscopic abrasions on the bodies of the parasites when they come into contact with it, thus killing them by desiccation and dehydration.
Note: Please read the PMCA's official stance on DE prior to using it.
Dimorphic Plumage: (may also be referred to as "sexually dimorphic"). Refers to adult male and female birds having different color plumage. Adult male martins are all black with a steel-blue sheen. Adult females are lighter colored with muted browns, grays, and some purple sheen to feathers on the head and back.
FEPC: Forced Extra-Pair Copulation. Refers to behavior where female martins are basically "gang raped" by one or several male martins other than their own mates. This usually occurs when the female is landing on the ground gathering nesting material prior to laying eggs. Adult male martins partake in this behavior to father as many of their own offspring as possible.
HY: Hatching Year. This refers to martins that hatch and fledge during their first calendar year of life. We refer to these as fledglings.
Kleptoparasitism: The act of older nestling martins entering nests other than their own in a martin house and stealing incoming food from smaller nestlings, thereby depriving the rightful nestling occupants of food and possibly causing their death by starvation. Installing porch dividers on apartment-style martin houses can control this behavior.
M12-K: Trio Musselman 12-unit martin house. Similar to the TG-12 Trio Grandpa martin house, except it has a separate 14' telescoping steel pole instead of a pulley system for raising and lowering. Comes with door stops. Features all aluminum construction, individual flip-out doors, and guard rails. This was the original Trio martin house produced in 1962, I believe. It is recommended that you modify the M12-K house from it's standard 6"x6" compartments to 6"x12" compartments for the safety of your martins from predators.
Male Porch Domination: Refers to behavior where adult male martins try to dominate as many rooms in their martin house or gourd rack as they can effectively defend. This may be for a couple of reasons. The first is to allow for extra rooms to be available later to subadult martins, thereby affording the male the opportunity to practice Mixed Reproductive Strategy (see below for definition). The other may simply be because the Purple Martin isn't truly a colonial species such as the Cliff Swallow, and may just be exhibiting the inherent behavior of defending the area immediately around his nest from competitors. Some males just naturally tend to be more aggressive than others are.
Mixed Reproductive Strategy: (Dr. Eugene Morton 1987) Refers to behavior whereby adult male martins, while in a monogamous relationship with a single mate, seek the opportunity to copulate with other females (usually subadult) once the paternity of their own mate's offspring is ensured. Male martins seek the opportunity to father as many offspring as possible in order to pass their genes on to the next generation. Once they have reached the point when their mate is ready to lay eggs, they seek the opportunity to mate with other females. In other words, they know that they will father their mate's offspring so they begin looking to copulate with other females to produce even more of their own offspring. However, they only feed the young of their own mate. Dr. Mortons findings indicate that the eggs of subadult pairs are fertilized by the adult males of other nesting pairs a large percentage of the time.
Penultimate: Next to the last. In martins, this refers to the next to the last egg laid in a clutch.
PMC-24: Trio Castle 24-unit martin house. The Cadillac of the Trio martin housing line, manufactured by Nature House of Griggsville, IL. Features all aluminum construction, individual flip-up doors, dri-nest subfloors, and winch system for easy raising and lowering. Comes with a 14' steel pole, a roof-top star perch, and winter door stops. It is recommended that you modify the Trio Castle from 24 to 12 rooms for the safety of your martins from predators.
PMCA: Purple Martin Conservation Association. This is the world's foremost martin organization that conducts scientifically based research on Purple Martin behavior and colony management techniques. It is the only martin organization based at a university, and the only one headed by an Ornithologist.
Progne subis arboricola: Scientific name for the "montane, or mountain martins" of the western mountain ranges and Pacific Northwest and Pacific Canada. These martins nest mainly in abandoned woodpecker holes and other natural cavities and are just now beginning to transition to human supplied apartment-style martin houses and gourds, mainly in Oregon. These are the largest of the three subspecies in North America.
Progne subis hesperia: Scientific name for the "desert martins" of the southwestern U.S. These martins nest mainly in saguaro cacti and other natural cavities and haven't been successfully attracted to human supplied apartment-style martin houses and gourds. These are the smallest and most brightly colored of the three subspecies in North America.
Progne subis subis: Scientific name for the nominate race of Purple Martins. These are the familiar martins of the eastern half of the country that nest in human supplied apartment-style martin houses and gourds. Of the three subspecies in North America, this is the middle one in size.
SREH: Starling-Resistant Entrance Hole. Charles McEwen of Canada came up with an idea several years ago of devising an entrance hole shape for martin houses that would permit the slimmer Purple Martin to pass through, but would be difficult for the chunkier Starling to enter. He came up with a crescent shaped entrance hole that has proven very effective at limiting entrance by Starlings, but allowing martins to enter. This is a powerful tool to use in areas where Starlings are numerous and aggressively competing with native cavity nesting bird species.
Stooped Submissive Posture: Refers to a flight display by male martins where they hunch their back, close their tail in a tight spine, hold their wings in a sickle-shaped manner and quickly flutter them. They do this when flying close to female martins. It is believed that this behavior may have more to do with attempted extra-pair copulation rather than for the benefit of the male's own mate as some form of mating display. However, I'm not sure if I agree with that. Just tonight, I watched a subadult male performing this display to a subadult female. It may simply be a courtship display that strengthens the pair bond.
Subadult: Second Calendar Year (other names - subbie, sub). See "SY" for definition of a subadult martin.
SY: Second Year. This refers to martins in their 2nd calendar year of life. The first year, they were hatchlings. The second year, they are subadults that will breed for the first time in their lives. Subadults have different plumage than adult (or ASY) martins. The males are colored more like females with light bellies with a few dark flecks. The head is darker than the adult female's. The SY females appear lighter underneath and browner overall than adult females. Look at the feathers right under the tail. Most SY females don't have any dark gray feathers in this area.
T-14: Troyer 14-unit martin house. Andrew Troyer, of Conneautville, PA, is a former PMCA Landlord of the Year. He invented what is currently considered the premier design for homemade, wooden martin houses. His design features larger (7"x12") compartments, pull-out nest trays, staggered entrance hole alignment, and other features that are now recognized as beneficial for the reproductive success of martins. The PMCA currently sells plans and complete T-14 houses through their product catalog.
TG-8: Trio "Grandma" 8-unit martin house. The TG-8 Trio Grandma martin house is a commercially manufactured, aluminum martin house produced by Nature House. It has 8 compartments and the rope lanyard system to raise and lower the house vertically. It also has all aluminum construction, guard rails, individual flip-out doors, dri-nest subfloors, door stops, a standard 14' sectional steel pole, and other features that make managing your martin colony very easy. It is recommended that you modify the TG-8 Trio Grandma house from it's standard 6"x6" compartments to larger 6"x12" compartments.
TG-12: Trio "Grandpa" 12-unit martin house. The TG-12 Trio Grandpa martin house is probably the most popular, and sells the most units annually, of any commercially manufactured martin house. This house is produced by the famous Nature House company of Griggsville, IL. It features aluminum construction, guard rails, individual flip-out doors, dri-nest subfloors, rope lanyard system for raising and lowering vertically, door stops, a standard 14' sectional steel pole, and other features that make managing your martin colony very convenient. It is recommended that you modify the TG-12 Trio Grandpa house from it's standard 6"x6" compartments to larger 6"x12" compartments.
