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The barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) is the most widespread species of swallow in the world, occurring on all continents, with vagrants reported even in Antarctica. [ 2 ] [ 3 ] It is a distinctive passerine bird with blue upperparts and a long, deeply forked tail.
The bird genus Hirundo is a group of passerines in the family Hirundinidae (swallows and martins). The genus name is Latin for a swallow. [1] These are the typical swallows, including the widespread barn swallow. Many of this group have blue backs, red on the face and sometimes the rump or nape, and whitish or rufous underparts. With fifteen ...
Their breeding habitat is open areas across eastern North America, and also some locations on the west coast from British Columbia to Mexico. [14] Martins make their nests in cavities, either natural or artificial. In many places, humans put up real or artificial hollow gourds, or houses for martins, especially in the east, where purple martins ...
The common swift (Apus apus) is a medium-sized bird, superficially similar to the barn swallow or house martin but somewhat larger, though not stemming from those passerine species, being in the order Apodiformes. The resemblances between the groups are due to convergent evolution, reflecting similar contextual development.
The sand martin (Riparia riparia), also known as collared sand martin or common sand martin, and in the Americas as the bank swallow, is a migratory passerine bird in the swallow family Hirundinidae. It has a wide range in summer, embracing practically the whole Holarctic area, from Europe, across Asia to the Pacific Ocean, and throughout North ...
An artificial purple martin nesting colony The barn swallow is the national bird of Estonia. [48] They also are one of the most depicted birds on postage stamps around the world. [49] [50] [51] Swallows coexist well with humans because of their beneficial role as insect eaters, and some species have readily adapted to nesting in and around ...
Although welcome swallows are more often near coastal and wetland areas, they can live in almost all types of habitat, except alpine areas and very dense forest. [7] They have been documented in open areas such as farmlands, grasslands, partly cleared areas that are wooded, lands associated with bodies of water such as lakes or reservoirs, and ...
The western house martin is similar in habits to other aerial insectivores, including other swallows and martins and the unrelated swifts, and catches insects in flight. [9] In the breeding areas, flies and aphids make up much of the diet, and in Europe, the house martin takes a larger proportion of aphids and small flies than the barn swallow. [9]