Pioneer Press – Jul 16 1:09 AM
BY JIM OLICHWIER
Pioneer Press
SPOT IT BARN SWALLOW
The barn swallow is an expert flier, spending much of the daylight hours in flight, moving at high speeds and catching insects on the wing. Its midair acrobatics are unmistakable as it turns and dips at high angles. The bird is almost constantly moving its wings, rarely gliding.
As the name suggests, the barn swallow often builds its nest in barns or near the top of buildings with overhangs, including under the roofs of houses. With its nest so close to people, the barn swallow sometimes will perceive humans as a threat. To deter any predator, real or imagined, from reaching its nest, the swallow takes swoops at high speeds until the chicks are out of danger. While the aggressive barn swallow sometimes comes close to hitting people, it usually misses.
Despite the occasional close call, the barn swallow is beneficial to have in a back yard, where it consumes large quantities of insects. Its constant flying burns a lot of energy, which requires it to eat every few minutes.
Over time, the barn swallow has evolved from building its nests on the sides of cliffs and caves to using, almost exclusively, manmade structures. The barn swallow has benefited from human interaction; the more houses and buildings there are, the more potential nesting spots.
The barn swallow nest is made of straw and mud and lined with feathers. To build it, the bird picks up small pieces of mud, works the mud into a pellet and flies it to the nest site. Some nest construction requires up to 1,000 trips.
The swallow returns to the same nest site every year, and its offspring often nest within 20 miles of where they were born.
The deep-forked tail of the barn swallow distinguishes it from other kinds of swallows. The tail is also important to females looking for mates. The longer, the better. Unpaired males may try to break up a breeding pair by killing their chicks. Such action usually wins a mate for the aggressor.
Jim Olichwier can be reached at jmolichwier@pioneerpress.com.
