Cliff Swallow

Known for their intrinsic aerial pattern of catching insects on their wings. The Cliff Swallow is a truly fascinating species of bird. Cliff Swallows are one of the first North American birds to be found. Although Swallows are small birds, they symbolize various spiritual aspects of life. They embody freedom from the worries and pains, joy, hope, passion, and speed of the past. These tough, aggressive birds are here to get close to humans.

About Cliff Swallows

The Cliff Swallow is one of the most sociable land birds in North America. These birds usually build nests in large colonies, with up to 6,000 active nests in each location. It turned out that Cliff Swallows came from the western mountains, and they still nest below the horizon. The ledges on both sides of the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, Rocky Mountains, and the Cascade Mountains and low-elevation steep canyons. Over the past 100 to 150 years, these birds have expanded their range in the Great Plains and eastern North America, and this expansion coincides with the extensive construction of major canals, bridges, and buildings to provide numerous alternative nesting sites. In areas where rock terns were not registered as breeding grounds, new colonies continue to appear every year.

Now that we have piqued your interest, let us learn more about the Cliff Swallow. In this blog, you will learn about: 

● Cliff Swallow Photos, Color Pattern, Song
● Cliff Swallow Size, Eating behavior, Habitat
● Cliff Swallow Range and Migration, Nesting

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Cliff Swallow Color Pattern

In low light, Cliff Swallows is brown, their throat is black, and their lower body is white. In full light, you can see their metallic navy blue backs and pale pumpkin seeds. They have rich brick red faces and a bright off-white spot on their foreheads that look like lighthouses. Some juveniles have whitish throats in summer and autumn. Their glasses and upperparts are mainly blue-black or a green slate color with a metallic tone; the forehead has triangular cream, light brown, or beige spots.

The auricles range from a light brown to a dark brown, widening like a narrow neck, and the back of the head is ochre or cinnamon, sometimes mixed with brown.

The back feathers and shoulder blades have brownish-gray edges, and when fresh, the middle dorsal feathers also have light white edges, consisting of two or more narrow vertical stripes.

The hips range from yellowish-brown to pink beige; upper tail dark brown, fresh, with wide off-white edges at the ends. Tails range from a grayish brown to brown, with a slight metallic green when fresh. The proximal end of the elytra is metallic blue-black or green slate, and the distal end becomes gray-brown.

The other upper wing feathers are gray-brown to brown, with a slight metallic green shimmer when fresh, with narrow white edges, tertiary and inner secondary. The raw feathers have a matt white tip, which opens when fresh. In the spring, this restriction is gone, making this variety look brighter. The chin, neck, and sides of the neck are brown, the middle and base of the neck are greenish-black or metallic blue. They either have white breasts or breasts washed with suede or ochre, with matte light gray mottles.

The rest of their sides are mostly white, the upper flanks are washed brown, and the middle part of the longer under tail cover is brown. The lower elytra is dim, sometimes red or maroon. Males have a larger blue dot on the lower throat; otherwise, males and females have similar feathers

Description and Identification

Cliff Swallows have no sex dimorphism and can only be distinguished by the presence or absence of breeding spots or cloaca bulge, although males usually have a large dark blue spot on the bottom of the neck. The color and degree of white spots on the neck and forehead of annual birds vary greatly. This individual variation is one of the highest observed in the feathers of young North American birds.

Separated in all plumages and ages from all other North American Swallows except the Cave Swallow (Petrochelidon fulva) by its square tail and pale buffy rump. In all populations, they exhibit a chestnut-colored throat. Most subspecies show a cream or white-colored, triangular-shaped forehead patch, characters that separate the species from the Cave Swallow. Head and neck are noticeably thicker than in other North American Swallows.

Cliff Swallow Song

Cliff Swallows have five different signals, mainly, the Begging call made by young Swallows when they ask for food from adults, the Purr Call used as an alarm when predators approach. The Chur Call is used in many situations. While the Twitter squeak song lasts up to 6 seconds, consists of multiple throats, mainly used during courtship and nesting. Squeaks are a signal to find food. The Squeak Call is similar in structure to a longer song similar to a Twitter and can be a variation of it. Both sexes scream for alms, grunt, scream and squeak. Only males will make a screaming Twitter-squeak song.

Geographical diversity seems limited. Although bird songs are rarely used, birds in West Virginia and Nebraska have
similar descriptions of vocalization. You can’t find them in the Great Plains of the Pacific Northwest. This song is for mating in the spring, when the parents feed the chicks, turn it down, and then use it again for a short time at the end of summer. The birds purr after they are born, the grunt is a stone alarm. Swallows used this song when predators approach a colony from the air or from the bottom. Birds usually swarm right above the predator and snor.

Cliff Swallow Size

Cliff Swallows usually have shorter wings, larger skeletal sizes, and lower levels of wings. Their overall length is around 5.1 inches; an average Cliff Swallow weighs around 0.7 to 1.2 oz, with a wingspan of 11 to 11.8 inches.

Cliff Swallow Behavior

Cliff Swallows are very social at all times, looking for other individuals when they are not in the nest. They can only hop on the ground. They walk on the ground only to collect dirt or grass, perform forced mating, collect gravel, sunbathe, or occasionally eat insects. Cliff Swallows fly at different altitudes, from just above the ground to 60 m or higher. The typical airspeed is around 8.7 m/s. Cliff Swallows groom their hair in groups, usually on a
rope or on a rock near their settlement.

Birds in large groups spend more time grooming (and less time observing predators), and birds at the edges of the group are easier to groom than birds closer to the central nest. Body contact is common in nesting. Cliff Swallows are often possessive about their nesting region, and when fighting for their space, they peck and flap their wings, often plucking their opponent’s feathers. Some birds will fight repeatedly for 15 minutes or more. In a fight, after falling from the nest, the birds separate, usually one of them chases the other. Birds will fall into the water under the nest and drown in battle.

Cliff Swallow Diet

They mainly feed on various flying insects, especially beetles (including primary beetles and adult weevils), real insects, flies, winged ants, bees, and wasps. It also eats grasshoppers, mayflies, lacewings, and other insects, as well as some spiders. Sometimes they eat berries. Birds only drink water with their wings, glide along the surface of the water, and lick the water with their jaws. Binge eating often occurs in groups, and many people suddenly start drinking and stop drinking at the same time. The adults flew out of the nest and evacuated.

Cliff Swallow Habitat

Cliff Swallows live in open or semi-open land, near farm areas. As the name suggests, near cliffs and lakes. They are widespread in all types of semi-open fields, especially near water, from grasslands to open spaces in desert rivers and northern forests. There you can find varieties of steep cliffs or other nesting areas sheltered from the wind, as well as soil supplies for nesting; some clearly related areas are still inexplicably scarce or missing.

You can find them in the prairie and close to water bodies, but they may migrate to other habitats. In the fall, thousands of migratory birds gather near coastal lakes in south-central Nebraska and land in the winding cornfields of Oklahoma and Texas.

Range and Migration

Cliff Swallows essentially are migratory birds they migrate from breeding range to winter range via Mexico, the Central American isthmus, and northern South America, staying east of the Andes. They have also been known to migrate to Bahama Islands, Cuba, the Lesser Antilles, and the Virgin Islands, although that’s less likely.

Most of the migrants often follow the Central American isthmus between North and South America. Migration in both directions seems leisurely and spans several months. Birds begin leaving the overwintering range in early February, although some individuals are still present in April. Birds first arrive in southern California in early February, Arizona usually in early March, Texas in early March, and Arkansas in late March. Kansas in mid-April, Nebraska in mid-April, Illinois in early April, Minnesota in late April, Idaho in early April, Massachusetts in mid-April, the Yukon in late April, and Alaska in mid-May.

Lifecycle

The Cliff Swallow has a maximum recorded lifespan of 11 years. There is no recorded life expectancy or collected information for the captive Cliff Swallow. These birds are usually not kept in captivity.

Cliff Swallows use soil to build bowl-shaped nests. There is a small tunnel on one side of it with grass inside. Nests are built on vertical walls or cliffs, usually under ledges. In the west, the colony has grown to 3,700 nests in one place. The female lays 1 to 6 milky white speckled eggs in the nest. When hatching, the chicks are defenseless and have no feathers. Young Swallows gathered in a large group. Although it is a large group of people, Cliff Swallow’s parents can find their children through voice.

Nesting

Cliff Swallows are known for their unique way of building nests. Shortly after pair formation, some males begin nest-building before securing a mate.

Birds choose a colony site first, then establish ownership of an existing nest or space on the substrate to build a nest. Colony selection is based in part on colony size (number of other birds present) and is heritable, with first-year birds choosing sites that match their birth colony size.

The nest is located at the 90° junction between the vertical wall and the horizontal rod. On cliffs, the distribution of ridges usually determines where nests can be placed and explain the uneven distribution of nests in most continuous corners, usually nesting directly below. The upper layer of the nest slightly offsets the honeycomb nest. In larger groups, up to 8 levels of horizontal nests can be built, and sometimes nests can be placed deeper in the cliff.

Anatomy of Cliff Swallows

These compact Swallows are often Sparrow-sized or smaller. Cliff Swallows have rounded, broad-based wings, a small head, and a medium length, and a distinguishable squared tail.

Final Thought

Cliff Swallows are friendly birds, who are also of great ecological value. Cliff Swallows consume millions of insects each year, they are very useful in controlling insect populations. House Sparrows can build nests on the cliffs of swallows to drive away existing Swallows.

Ornithology

Bird Watching Academy & Camp Subscription Boxes

At Bird Watching Academy & Camp we help kids, youth, and adults get excited and involved in bird watching. We have several monthly subscription boxes that you can subscribe to. Our monthly subscription boxes help kids, youth, and adults learn about birds, bird watching, and bird conservation.

Bird Watching Binoculars for Identifying Cliff Swallows

The most common types of bird watching binoculars for viewing Cliff Swallows are 8×21 binoculars and 10×42 binoculars. Bird Watching Academy & Camp sells really nice 8×21 binoculars and 10×42 binoculars. You can view and purchase them here.

Cliff Swallow Stickers

Stickers are a great way for you to display your love for bird watching and the Cliff Swallow. We sell a monthly subscription sticker pack. The sticker packs have 12 bird stickers. These sticker packs will help your kids learn new birds every month.

Bird Feeders For Cliff Swallows

There are many types of bird feeders. Here are our favorite bird feeders for your backyard. We use all of these bird feeders currently. Kids will have a great time watching birds eat at these bird feeders. Using this collection of bird feeders will provide a wide variety and many types of birds.

Best Bird Houses For Cliff Swallows

There are many types of bird houses. Building a bird house is always fun but can be frustrating. Getting a bird house for kids to watch birds grow is always fun. If you spend a little extra money on bird houses, it will be well worth every penny and they’ll look great.