The Galápagos Martin (Progne modesta) is a species of bird in the Hirundinidae family. It is endemic to Ecuador. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, pastureland and heavily degraded former forest.
This is the only resident swallow family bird and can be seen performing acrobatic flies out of cliffs or in the interior of the calderas of the big volcanoes of Isabela.
The male Galapagos Martin is quite large and shows a dark blue – black plumage with paler underwings. The female is heavily streaked with brownish underparts.
The Galapagos Martins feed on what is known as aero plankton or little arthropods caught in flight. Their flying pattern is typical of martins with a series of short wing beats followed by a glide.
Galapagos Martins could be mistaken with any of the other two swallows that visit the archipelago but the Galapagos Martin is much bigger.
Some believe the population on Galapagos is merely a slightly smaller variant of the Southern martin (P. Concolor) of south America, suggesting a recent arrival on the westerly winds.