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Author: Harrison, George H.
Source:Â Birder’s World
COPYRIGHT 2004 Kalmbach Publishing Company
One swallow maketh not summer,” wrote the English playwright John Heywood in 1546, but for me, one swallow, the first Barn Swallow of the season, made it summer at my Grandfather Hill’s farm near Leisureville, Pennsylvania.
I spent many of my boyhood summers at the Hill farm doing chores and learning about nature. I put up bluebird houses, spied on a den of red foxes, chased cottontail rabbits, found the nest cavity of a Red-headed Woodpecker, and kept box turtles from the woodlot. But one of the most fascinating lessons for me was watching the Barn Swallows that nested on the rafters of the barn.
I can still see in my mind their flowing, graceful flight. Like performers in a choreographed ballet, they skimmed over fields, swooped down on ponds, and darted effortlessly through the barn door and up to rafters where mates and young awaited. As they flew, they chittered and chattered a pleasant chorus of kvik-kvik, wit-wit. When they arrived at the nest, there was a chatty greeting between mates or a demanding chorus of begging chicks.
Little did I know then that I would grow up to admire the beautiful forked-tailed bird with a metallic blue back and rich rufous breast far from the Pennsylvania farm. That’s because the same species, Hirundo rustica, is found on all the continents except Antarctica. I’ve had the pleasure of watching Barn Swallows in the Cotswolds of England, on the beaches of Normandy, in the Steppes of Russia, and on the Serengeti in East Africa.
I have met farmers all over the world who have a kinship with Barn Swallows because…
October 17th, 2006
.wild-bird-watching.com/
The Barn Swallow, with its distinctive long forked tail, makes it the easiest of North American swallows for bird watchers to identify. Although in flight the feathers are swept back and form a single long point behind the bird.
One sure sign of summer for anyone who enjoys bird watching, is this bird flying back and forth to any open barn or outbuilding in the country. This bird spends more time in the air then almost any other land bird.
Description
Measuring 5 1/2 to 7 inches in length with pointed wings and a deeply forked tail.
The bill is very short. Dark blue-black above with a dark rusty throat. The rest of the underparts are a buffy or pale rusty.
Mating Habits
Swallows are generally monogamous, males mating with a single female. Although rare, males sometimes will
pair with 2 females.
Paired males will aggressively defend the small area around the nest, and guard his mate from other males that might attempt to copulate with her.
Nesting Habits
Both the male and female bird build the nest, usually in the morning, making up to 1,000 trips to collect mud.
Although this bird originally nested in caves and on rocky cliffs, the barn swallow was quick to take advantage of man-made structures. Today, these birds nests only in association with man-made structures.
The nest is a cup of mud pellets lined with grass and feathers, built under eaves of buildings, resting on a beam, or some projection in barns, under bridges, in culverts, or occasionally in niche on a cliff.
The female lays 3 to 8 white eggs that are spotted with reddish brown. The eggs are incubated for 14 to 16 days and the young will leave the nest in 18 to 23 days.
Two broods a season may be attempted.
Feeding Habits
These birds feed on flying insects and feed on the wing. During the breeding season these birds will feed in pairs and fly at a low altitude, generally over fields and water.
During the non-breeding season they will feed in small, loosely formed flocks.
Habitat
Bird watchers can look for Barn Swallows in open country and marshes, especially near barns, outbuildings, bridges, and culverts.
October 17th, 2006