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Any of the 74 species of the bird family Hirundinidae (order Passeriformes). A few, including the bank swallow, are called martins (see martin; see also woodswallow; for sea swallow, see tern). Swallows are small, with pointed narrow wings, short bills, and small weak feet; some species have forked tails. Plumage may be plain or marked with metallic blue or green; the sexes look alike in most species.<\/p>\n
Swallows spend much time in the air, capturing insects; they are among the most agile of passerine birds. For nesting, swallows may use a hole or cranny in a tree, burrow into a sandbank, or plaster mud onto a wall or ledge to house three to seven white, sometimes speckled, eggs.<\/p>\n
Photograph:Common swallow (Hirundo rustica)
\nCommon swallow (Hirundo rustica)
\nStephen Dalton\u2014Natural History Photographic Agency\/EB Inc.<\/p>\n
Swallows occur worldwide except in the coldest regions and remotest islands. Temperate-zone species include long-distance migrants. The common swallow (Hirundo rustica; see photograph) is almost worldwide in migration; an American species, called barn swallow, may summer in Canada and winter in Argentina. The 10 species of Petrochelidon, which make flask-shaped mud nests, include the cliff swallow (P. pyrrhonota), the bird of San Juan Capistrano Mission, in California; as with other swallows, it has strong homing instincts. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Any of the 74 species of the bird family Hirundinidae (order Passeriformes). A few, including the bank swallow, are called martins (see martin; see also woodswallow; for sea swallow, see tern). Swallows are small, with pointed narrow wings, short bills, and small weak feet; some species have forked tails. Plumage may be plain or marked […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[413],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n