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Barn Swallow

Hirundo rusticaOrder: PASSERIFORMESFamily: Swallows (Hirundinidae)

Barn Swallow Portrait
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General

Barn Swallow: Medium-sized swallow with glittering blue-black upperparts and red-brown forehead. Breast is red-brown with dark band and belly is white to orange. Tail is deeply forked with long outer streamers. Female and juvenile are duller and have shorter tail streamers.

Range and Habitat

Barn Swallow: Breeds from Alaska east across Canada to Newfoundland and south throughout most of the U.S.; spends winters in the tropics and Eurasia. Preferred habitats include agricultural lands, suburban areas, marshes, and lakeshores.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

" chi-dit, chi-dit", "wit-wit"

Interesting Facts

  • The killing of Barn Swallows for their feathers was one of the problems that led to the founding of the Audubon Society and the passage of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.MW
  • Females prefer to mate with males that have the longest and most symmetrical tails and a dark red chest color.
  • When building the mud nest, both male and female make up to 1000 trips collecting mud.
  • A group of barn swallows are known collectively as a "kettle" of swallows.


Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Range Map for Barn 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 Hirundo rustica
Length6.75 - 7.5 Inches
Wingspan13 Inches

Barn Swallow

Barn Swallow: Medium swallow with glittering blue-black upperparts, red-brown forehead, chin and throat. Dark blue-black breast band, belly is white to orange. Tail is deeply forked with long outer streamers. Black legs and feet. It is the most abundant and widely distributed swallow in the world.

● Song: " chi-dit, chi-dit", "wit-wit"

● Foraging & Feeding: Barn Swallow: Diet includes insects such as grasshoppers, crickets, dragonflies, beetles, and moths. Barn swallows are quite opportunistic, and are often found following tractors engaged in plowing or mowing to take advantage of disturbed insects.

● Breeding & nesting: Barn Swallow: Four to seven brown marked, white eggs are laid in a solid cup of mud reinforced with grass, lined with feathers and soft plant material, and built under or on a rafter in a building or sheltered ledge. Incubation ranges from 13 to 17 days and is carried out by both parents.

● Similar species: Barn Swallow: Cliff Swallow has blue-black upperparts and squared tail. Cave Swallow has blue-black upperparts, brown rump, and squared tail.

Flight Pattern

Graceful., Swift flight with deep wing beats.
Barn Swallow Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Barn Swallow: Breeds from Alaska east across Canada to Newfoundland and south throughout most of the U.S.; spends winters in the tropics and Eurasia. Preferred habitats include agricultural lands, suburban areas, marshes, and lakeshores.
BreedingMonogamous, Small colonies
PopulationWidespread, Abundant
MigrationMigratory
Weight0.6 Ounces