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Purple martins

Largest of the swallow family: 7.5 inches long, 1.9 ounces in weight.

Breed in North America; winter in Brazil.

Monogamous pairs, but males are promiscuous.

Dependent upon humans for shelter east of the Rocky Mountains.

Eat flying insects such as grasshoppers, dragonflies, June bugs, cicadas, butterflies; not major predators of mosquitoes.

Live in colonies; highly social.


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