Have you ever wondered what those white round, space capsule-like looking structures are on stands at EPCOT, Animal Kingdom, Saratoga Springs, or Caribbean Beach? They are Purple Martin boxes, homes for beautiful migratory song birds that call Walt Disney World home from January through August.

Purple Martins are the largest members of the swallow family in North America and are native to the Brazilian Amazon, but they migrate north over 3,000 miles every year to raise their young. Since 1998, through the involvement of Walt Disney World and the Disney Conservation Fund, Purple Martins have migrated to Disney World in January to lay their eggs and raise their hatchlings before returning to Brazil in the summer.

While the Purple Martins are at Disney World, trained Disney cast members monitor and band the birds and identify the band numbers on returning birds. This is all a part of broader efforts on the part of Disney to protect migratory bird species and their habitats.

If you want to know more about Purple Martins, you can join a Disney conservationist at 9:00am on Mondays and Fridays at Saratoga Springs Resort to learn about these beautiful birds and Disney’s ongoing efforts to protect them.

At stores in EPCOT and elsewhere around Walt Disney World, you can also find plush Purple Martin toys from Wild Republic that mimic the song of a Purple Martin at the push of a button.  If you take home one home a as a souvenir, maybe they will attract live Purple “Martians” to your yard or at least provide your kids with hours of fun annoying the dog.