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Barn Swallow
Photos by Bruce
Dayton
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ORDER:
Passeriformes
FAMILY: Hirundinidae (Swallows - 8 Species)
SPECIES:
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)
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Barn Swallow |
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The Barn Swallow is the most abundant and widely distributed swallow species in the world. The killing of Barn Swallows for their feathers was one of the issues that led to the founding of the Audubon Society and the passage of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. These outlawed the killing of birds without the appropriate license and made it illegal to possess even a single feather of a protected bird. |
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SIZE |
Small (6- 7 1/2") bird. |
| DESCRIPTION | The Barn Swallow has a blue-black back and the front is a buff-color with the throat being darker. It has a long, deeply forked tail and curved, pointed wings. Females are slightly duller and shorter-tailed than males |
| NESTING | Clutch size ranges from 2-7 eggs, which are incubated in 14 to 16 days. Barn Swallow nests are cup-shaped made with mud pellets and lined with long grass, hair, and curly feathers. Barn swallow nests are also typically built under eaves or some other protected sites, such as on a beam inside a barn. |
| RANGE | It breeds throughout North America and throughout the northern hemisphere. Barn Swallows migrate to South America in winter. |
| HABITAT | The Barn Swallow habitat is farmlands, fields, suburbs, marshes, lakeshores and other bodies of water. |
| DIET | The barn swallow is an insectivore, it eats only insects. Grasshoppers, beetles, moths and other flying insects make up a large part of its diet. They have preference for flies and mosquitoes. They chase after individual prey and perform aerial acrobatics to catch them. |
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| Barn Swallow | |
| Montezuma
National Wildlife Refuge Seneca County, New York |
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| BaSw_261T_038790 | |
| Fair
Haven Beach State Park Cayuga County, New York |
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| BaSw_261T_037653 | |
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| BaSw_261T_037665 | BaSw_261T_605107 |
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| Barn
Swallow Drawing by Louis Agassiz Fuertes |
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| INTERESTING FACTS |
| Bird Sanctuary |
| An officially designated and defined area in which all birds, along with there nests and eggs and young are fully protected. Unofficially, any place where some measure of protection is given to birds may be called a bird sanctuary. |
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Birds
of North America
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Please email with any ideas or comments concerning this web page. |
| The images on this web page are copyrighted © 2003 - 2007 by Bruce Dayton. I want to share my photos to promote conservation and to help people identify and learn about the birds and other creatures that live with us on the North American continent. Please do not use any of my work in any non-profit or for-profit project without first getting written permission from me. You can ask for permission by emailing me at webmaster@wildlifeofnorthamerica.info. All reproductions must bear an appropriate credit. |
NOTE: This site will be updated as time and pictures become available.
Visit Mammals of North America
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)
Updated 10-19-2008