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After building the nest, barn swallows may nest colonially where sufficient high-quality nest sites are available, and within a colony, each pair defends a territory around the nest which, for the European subspecies, is 4 to 8 m 2 (40 to 90 sq ft) in size. Colony size tends to be larger in North America. [37]
The nest, built by both adults over several weeks, is made from several hundred mud pellets and lined with feathers and soft, dry grass, hair, sheep's wool or plant down. [27] It may be a half-cup when constructed under an overhang on a vertical wall or cliff, or shaped as a bowl like that of the barn swallow when placed on a sheltered ledge.
The four Ptyonoprogne species are the Eurasian crag martin (P. rupestris) described as Hirundo rupestris by Italian naturalist Giovanni Antonio Scopoli in 1769, the pale crag martin (P. obsoleta), described by Jean Cabanis in 1850, the rock martin (P. fuligula), described by German zoologist Martin Lichtenstein in 1842, and the dusky crag martin (P. concolor) formally described in 1832 as ...
This martin nests under a cliff overhang or on a man-made structure, building a neat half-cup mud nest with a soft lining. Both adults incubate the two to four eggs and feed the chicks. This species does not form large breeding colonies, but it is more gregarious outside the breeding season.
Flamingoes are gregarious wading birds, usually 3 to 5 feet (0.9 to 1.5 m) tall, found in both the Western and Eastern Hemispheres. Flamingos filter-feed on shellfish and algae. Their oddly shaped beaks are adapted to separate mud and silt from the food they consume and, uniquely, are used upside-down. One species has been recorded in Indiana.
It is much more urban than the barn swallow, and will nest even in city centres if the air is clean enough. [14] It is more likely to be found near trees than other Eurasian swallows, since they provide insect food and also roosting sites. This species does not normally use the reed-bed roosts favoured by migrating barn swallows. [16] [17]
Mud-nesting species in particular are limited in areas of high humidity, which causes the mud nests to crumble. Many cave-, bank-, and cliff-dwelling species of swallows nest in large colonies. Mud nests are constructed by both males and females, and amongst the tunnel diggers, the excavation duties are shared, as well.
Flamingos are gregarious wading birds, usually 3 to 5 feet (0.9 to 1.5 m) feet in height, found in both the Western and Eastern Hemispheres. Flamingos filter-feed on shellfish and algae. Their oddly shaped beaks are specially adapted to separate mud and silt from the food they consume and, uniquely, are used upside-down.