Purple Martins are the largest member of the swallow family in North America, measuring 7-1/2 inches long and weighing 1.9 ounces. They spend the non-breeding season in Brazil then migrate to North America to nest. East of the Rocky Mountains they are totally dependant on human-supplied housing. West of the Rockies and in the deserts they largely nest in their ancestral ways, in abandoned woodpecker nest cavities. In the Pacific northwest, Martins are beginning to use gourds and clusters of sing