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Mar 24, 2023 · Swallows — members of the bird family Hirundinidae, which includes 86 species worldwide — are part of a broader category of birds called aerial insectivores, meaning they catch insects on the wing. Swallows are small birds with slender, pointed wings and small beaks and feet.
Handsome aerialists with deep-blue iridescent backs and clean white fronts, Tree Swallows are a familiar sight in summer fields and wetlands across northern North America. They chase after flying insects with acrobatic twists and turns, their steely blue-green feathers flashing in the sunlight.
The swallow is a glossy, dark blue-black above and creamy-white below, with a dark red forehead and throat, bordered by a blue-black band across the top of the breast. The red can be difficult to make out from a distance, when the whole head may just appear dark. It has a very long, deeply forked tail.
Browse North American birds by shape—helpful if you don’t know exactly which type of bird you’ve seen.
The barn swallow is a bird of open country that normally nests in man-made structures and consequently has spread with human expansion. It builds a cup nest from mud pellets in barns or similar structures and feeds on insects caught in flight. [5] .
Swallows (Order: Passeriformes, Family: Hirundinidae) Bank Swallow. Tree Swallow. Violet-green Swallow. Purple Martin. Northern Rough-winged Swallow. Barn Swallow. Cliff Swallow. Cave Swallow. Browse Species in This Family. More to Read. A bird keeps flying into my window or car mirror, on purpose. What should I do?
Category. Swallow-like Birds, Swallows. Conservation. Low Concern. Habitat. Coasts and Shorelines, Fields, Meadows, and Grasslands, Freshwater Wetlands, High Mountains, Lakes, Ponds, and Rivers, Saltwater Wetlands, Shrublands, Savannas, and Thickets, Urban and Suburban Habitats. Region.
