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. The genus name refers to Procne (), a Greek mythological queen who was turned into a swallow to save her from her husband Tereus. She had killed their son Itys to avenge the rape of her sister Philomela.
The genus contains the following nine species: 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
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