Progne is a genus of passerine birds in the swallow family Hirundinidae. The species are found in the New World and all have "martin" in their common name.

Taxonomy

The genus Progne was introduced in 1826 by the German zoologist Friedrich Boie for the purple martin.[2][3] The genus name refers to Procne (Πρόκνη), a mythological girl who was turned into a swallow to save her from her husband. She had killed their son to avenge the rape of her sister.[4]

The genus contains nine species:[5]

Image Scientific name Common name Distribution
Progne tapera Brown-chested martin Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Suriname, the United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, a vagrant to Chile and the Falkland Islands
Progne murphyi Peruvian martin Peru and far northern Chile
Progne modesta Galapagos martin Galápagos Islands
Progne subis Purple martin West Coast from British Columbia to Mexico, to East Coast
Progne elegans Southern martin Argentina and southern Bolivia
Progne chalybea Grey-breasted martin Central and South America
Progne sinaloae Sinaloa martin Mexico
Progne cryptoleuca Cuban martin Cuba
Progne dominicensis Caribbean martin Mainland Central and South America, Caribbean islands from Jamaica east to Tobago

References

  1. ^ "Hirundinidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-15.
  2. ^ Boie, Friedrich (1826). "Generalübersicht der ornithologischen Ordnungen, Familien und Gattungen". Isis von Oken (in German). 19. Cols 969–981 [971].
  3. ^ Mayr, Ernst; Greenway, James C. Jr, eds. (1960). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 9. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 85.
  4. ^ Jobling, James A (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 317. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
  5. ^ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (July 2021). "Swallows". IOC World Bird List Version 11.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 13 October 2021.