| Common Name | (in English) Barn Swallow |
| (in Chinese) 家燕 | |
| Scientific Name | (in Latin) Hirundo rustica |
| Peculiar characteristics / external features: | It has steel blue upperparts and a rufous forehead, chin and throat, which are separated from the off-white underparts by a broad dark blue breast band. The outer tail feathers are elongated, giving the distinctive deeply forked “swallow tail”. There is a line of white spots across the outer end of the upper tail. |
| Distributions: | The preferred habitat of the barn swallow is open country with low vegetation, such as pasture, meadows and farmland, preferably with nearby water. The presence of accessible open structures such as barns, stables, or culverts to provide nesting sites, and exposed locations such as wires, roof ridges or bare branches for perching, are also important in the bird’s selection of its breeding range. |
| Habits: | |
| Dietary | Barn swallows are insectivores. Flies, grasshoppers, crickets, dragonflies, beetles, moths and other flying insects make up 99 % of their diet |
| Reproductive (Solitary/Social/Territorial, Courtship Behavior, Taking care of youngs, etc) | Barn swallows are socially monogamous (one male mates and raises chicks with one female). However, barn swallows often copulate with other swallows that are not their mate. Therefore, they are probably actually polygamous. Barn swallows form breeding pairs each spring after they arrive on the breeding grounds. They form new pairs each spring, though the same two birds may nest together for several years. |
| Whatever appropriate | |
| Interesting Fact: | Adults that don’t have a mate sometimes join breeding pairs, and help them to build a nest, defend the nest, incubate the eggs and brood the chicks. These “helpers” are usually male. They may mate with the female of the nest. |
References:
- https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Barn_Swallow/lifehistory
- http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Hirundo_rustica/
Voice of Barn Swallow:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Barn_Swallow/sounds
Video:
