Progne cryptoleuca
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
The Cuban martin (Progne cryptoleuca) is a large swallow endemic to Cuba. It is closely related to the Caribbean martin (P. dominicensis), which breeds on Caribbean islands from Jamaica east to Tobago, and the Sinaloa martin (P. sinaloae), which breeds in Mexico.
It has at various times been considered alternatively as a race of the purple martin, Progne subis. Adult Cuban martins are 18.5 cm in length, with a forked tail and relatively broad wings, and weigh 40 g. Adult males are a glossy blue-black with contrasting white lower underparts. Females and juveniles are duller than the male, with grey-brown breast and flanks and white lower underparts.
Adult male Cuban martins can be distinguished from adult male Caribbean martins by their dark bellies: Caribbean martins have a prominent white patch on theirs. Adult females and immatures aren't as easily distinguished.
On the other hand, adult male Cuban martins and Purple martins cannot be reliably distinguished in the field. Adult female and immature Purple martins have a scaly breast pattern which can be used to distinguish the two species.
Unlike these two similar species, the Cuban martin is endemic to Cuba and Isla... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ciénaga de Zapata | 🇨🇺 Cuba |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Havana | 🇨🇺 Cuba |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Cuban Martin sighting in Havana on a given day, based on 263 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 48th most-seen of the 183 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Cuban Martin in Havana on a given day, against under 5% in September to January, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Cuban Martin sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Havana, in our data
Havana is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Cuban Martin sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Cuban Martin is recorded against all the birds logged in Havana (263 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
