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Northern Rough-winged Swallow

Stelgidopteryx serripennisOrder: PASSERIFORMESFamily: Swallows (Hirundinidae)

Northern Rough-winged-Swall Portrait
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General

Northern Rough-winged Swallow: Small, stocky swallow with brown upperparts, paler underparts, and pale brown throat. Tail is squared with white undertail coverts. Sexes are similar. Juvenile has two distinct cinnamon-brown wing-bars.

Range and Habitat

Northern Rough-winged Swallow: Breeds from southeastern Alaska and southern Canada southward throughout the U.S. Spends winters north to southern California, the Gulf Coast, and southern Florida.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"br-r-ret"

Interesting Facts

  • John James Audubon discovered the Northern Rough-winged Swallow in Louisiana in 1819. He shot five birds and only after seeing they were unfamiliar, collected them for further study.
  • The Greek genus name, Stelgidopteryx, means "scraper wing;" the Latin species name, serripennis, means "saw feather."
  • A pair of birds was documented nesting in a Civil War Cannon.
  • A group of swallows has many collective nouns, including a "gulp", "herd", "kettle", "richness", and "sord" of swallows.


Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Range Map for Northern Rough-winged Swallow
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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.
Family
Species Stelgidopteryx serripennis
Length5.5 Inches
Wingspan11.5 Inches

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

Northern Rough-winged Swallow: Small, stocky swallow, brown upperparts, paler underparts, pale brown throat. Tail is squared with white undertail coverts. Named for tiny hooks found on outer primary feathers. Swift, graceful flight, alternates several slow, deep wing beats with short or long glides.

● Song: "br-r-ret"

● Foraging & Feeding: Northern Rough-winged Swallow: Eats insects; forages in flight, taking insects in the air or from the water surface; sometimes forages on the ground. Drinks by skimming the water surface while in flight.

● Breeding & nesting: Northern Rough-winged Swallow: Four to eight white eggs are laid in a burrow or natural cavity; also uses ready-made cavities in bridges, culverts, and other streamside masonry. Eggs are incubated for 12 days by the female.

● Similar species: Northern Rough-winged Swallow: Bank Swallow is smaller and has a white throat and brown breast band.

Flight Pattern

Swift graceful flight with slow deep wing beats.
Northern Rough-winged Swallow Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Northern Rough-winged Swallow: Breeds from southeastern Alaska and southern Canada southward throughout the U.S. Spends winters north to southern California, the Gulf Coast, and southern Florida.
BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester, Small colonies
PopulationIncreasing
MigrationMigratory
Weight0.6 Ounces