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Tree Swallow

Tachycineta bicolorOrder: PASSERIFORMESFamily: Swallows (Hirundinidae)
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Family
Species Tachycineta bicolor
Length5.75 Inches
Wingspan12.5 Inches

Tree Swallow

Tree Swallow: Medium-sized swallow with iridescent blue-green upperparts and white underparts. The wings are dark gray and tail is dark and forked. Black bill, legs and feet. Swift, graceful flight, alternates slow, deep wing beats with short or long glides. Turns back sharply on insects it passes.

● Song: "chi-veet"

● Foraging & Feeding: Tree Swallow: Feeds mostly on insects caught while in flight; also forages on the ground for insects, spiders, seeds, and berries; may travel long distances to find food.

● Breeding & nesting: Tree Swallow: Four to six white eggs are laid in a feather-lined cup of grass built in a tree cavity or nest box. Incubation ranges from 13 to 16 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Tree Swallow: Violet-green Swallow has more white on rump and face and greener upperparts. Bank Swallow is smaller, duller, and has breast band. Northern Rough-winged Swallow has dark throat and warmer brown upperparts.

Flight Pattern

Swift graceful flight with slow deep wing beats.
Tree Swallow Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Tree Swallow: Breeds from Alaska east through northern Manitoba to Newfoundland and south to California, Colorado, Nebraska, and Maryland. Spends winters north to southern California, the Gulf Coast, and the Carolinas. Preferred habitats include open areas near water, such as fields, marshes, meadows, shorelines, beaver ponds, and wooded swamps with standing dead trees.
BreedingPolygamous, Loose colonies
PopulationIncreasing, Abundant
MigrationMigratory
Weight0.7 Ounces