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The inside of a tree swallow nest A male gathering nesting material. The tree swallow has high rates of extra-pair paternity, 38% to 69% of nestlings being a product of extra-pair paternity, and 50% to 87% of broods containing at least one nestling that was the result of an extra-pair copulation. [14]
A tree swallow attending its nest in a tree cavity. Swallows are excellent flyers and use these skills to feed and attract mates. Some species, such as the mangrove swallow, are territorial, whereas others are not and simply defend their nesting sites. In general, the male selects a nest site, and then attracts a female using song and flight ...
Tree martins also occasionally reline the nests of welcome swallows, and may displace the owners to obtain the nest. The nest, unusually for a cliff swallow, is often made just from grass and leaves, but may be reinforced with mud. A mud and plant fibre cement is also used to reduce the width of the entrance to the breeding hole.
Violet-green swallow with a beak full of insects A female violet-green swallow feeding her chick from outside their tree hole nest. Similar to other swallows, violet-green swallows are specialized aerial insectivores, catching and eating their prey while in flight. However, they have been known to feed higher in the sky than most other swallows.
DNA studies suggest that there are three major groupings within the Hirundininae subfamily, broadly correlating with the type of nest built. [3] The groups are the "core martins" including burrowing species like the sand martin , the "nest-adopters", with birds like the tree swallow which use natural cavities, and the "mud nest builders".
The northern rough-winged swallow usually nests by itself, [5] although sometimes it is found in loose groups, often at the edge of bank swallow colonies, [6] of up to 25 pairs. [5] The nests are found in burrows located in soil banks, [ 12 ] very occasionally caves and trees, and in human-made cavities such as gutters and tubes.
Cliff swallows are not common birds and to have them nesting on our vinyl-sided house is very unusual as they traditionally prefer nesting under bridges or eaves of old barns.
The tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) is also an effective predator of Haematobia irritans and can be attracted by building tree-swallow houses spaced approximately 100 feet apart. [6] Each adult tree swallow will consume about 2,000 insects per day during an average 45 day nesting period.