Purple Martin

SCI Name:  Progne subis
Protonym:  Hirundo subis Syst.Nat.ed.10 p.192
Taxonomy:  Passeriformes / Hirundinidae / Progne
Taxonomy Code:  purmar
Type Locality:  Hudson Bay.
Author:  Linnaeus
Publish Year:  1758
IUCN Status:  Least Concern

DEFINITIONS

PROGNE
(Hirundinidae; Ϯ Purple Martin P. subis) L. progne or procne  swallow (Gr. myth. Progne, Prokne or Procne, daughter of King Pandion of Athens and wife to King Tereus of Thrace. Tereus raped Progne’s sister, Philomela, cut out his victim’s tongue and then imprisoned her. Progne discovered the hideous deed by way of a smuggled tapestry, rescued her sister, and, in revenge, butchered her own son Itylus and fed him to Tereus at a Bacchic orgy. Before Tereus could put the dishonoured sisters to the sword they were metamorphosed into a nightingale and a swallow); "I. Fam. Hirundinidae Vigors.  Hirundo Lin.  ...  Progne: Hir. purpurea Gm.  Wils. pl. 39 fig. 2. u.a."(Boie 1826); "Progne Boie, 1826, Isis von Oken, col. 971. Type, by monotypy, Hirundo purpurea "Gm. Wils. pl. 39, fig. 2" = Hirundo subis Linnaeus." (Peters 1960, IX, 85).
Var. Procne.
Synon. Phaeoprogne, Tapera.

progne
Gr. myth. Progne or Procne, daughter of King Pandion of Athens and wife to King Tereus of Thrace (see Progne); ex “Veuve à epaulettes” of de Buffon 1770-1785 (Euplectes).

subis
L. subis  type of bird that breaks eagles’ eggs, mentioned by the grammarian Nigidius Figulus. Latham 1783, wrote of the “Esculent Swallow” (= Collocalia), “Authors differ much as to the materials of which it [the nest] is composed; some suppose it to consist of sea-worms of the Mollusca class; others of the Sea-qualm (a kind of Cuttle-fish) or a glutinous sea-plant called Agal Agal. It has also been supposed that they rob other birds of their eggs, and, after breaking the shells, apply the white of them for that purpose.” Early American settlers provided gourds and nest-boxes for the Purple Martin and encouraged it to nest about their farms and villages, because its pugnacious behaviour towards hawks and crows kept the chicken-runs safe from those predators; "101. HIRUNDO.  ...  Subis.  6. H. nigro-cærulescens, ore subtusque cinereo-exalbida.  Hirundo cærulea canadensis. Edw. av. 120. t. 120.  Habitat ad sinum Hudsonis." (Linnaeus 1758) (Progne).

SUBSPECIES

Purple Martin (subis/arboricola)
SCI Name: Progne subis subis/arboricola
PROGNE
(Hirundinidae; Ϯ Purple Martin P. subis) L. progne or procne  swallow (Gr. myth. Progne, Prokne or Procne, daughter of King Pandion of Athens and wife to King Tereus of Thrace. Tereus raped Progne’s sister, Philomela, cut out his victim’s tongue and then imprisoned her. Progne discovered the hideous deed by way of a smuggled tapestry, rescued her sister, and, in revenge, butchered her own son Itylus and fed him to Tereus at a Bacchic orgy. Before Tereus could put the dishonoured sisters to the sword they were metamorphosed into a nightingale and a swallow); "I. Fam. Hirundinidae Vigors.  Hirundo Lin.  ...  Progne: Hir. purpurea Gm.  Wils. pl. 39 fig. 2. u.a."(Boie 1826); "Progne Boie, 1826, Isis von Oken, col. 971. Type, by monotypy, Hirundo purpurea "Gm. Wils. pl. 39, fig. 2" = Hirundo subis Linnaeus." (Peters 1960, IX, 85).
Var. Procne.
Synon. Phaeoprogne, Tapera.

Purple Martin (hesperia)
SCI Name: Progne subis hesperia
hesperia
L. hesperius western  < Gr. ἑσπεριος hesperios  western, in the evening  < ἑσπερα hespera  evening, west.