Swallow: description, nutrition, reproduction, habitat

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All of us are pleased to discover thisbird, because when the swallows arrive, spring comes. They are migrating birds with long pointed wings and streamlined bodies. Due to this form of the body, their flight takes place very quickly. They are often seen over fields, gardens, lakes, where insects are abundant. They will be recognized by the forked tail. There is a legend in which it says that this bird helped people to steal fire from the gods, an angry god threw a burning coal into it, which, after hitting in the middle of the tail, burned it.

Swallow: description

Swallows have a metallic blue-black color,breast and abdomen light gray, with reddish on forehead in young, adult breast and white forehead. They have a long forked tail with a number of white spots on individual feathers. Swallow wings pointed, have external steering feathers (streamers), in males they are slightly shorter than in females.

The size of an adult male is 17-19 cm inlength, including the tail of 2-7 cm. The wingspan is 32-34.5 cm, in the air the bird does 5.3 strokes per minute, weight - 16-22 g. If the tail is shorter, it means that the female is a swallow. The description of a bird is very similar to a swift, and they are often confused. Head flattened, with short beak. In adults, moulting occurs approximately every year from August to March.

Swallows (and other small passerine)often have damage to feathers on wings and tails in the form of small holes, such holes are created by parasites - bird lice and mites. Also, the enemies of these little birds are bats and birds of prey.

This bird is very widespread, itscan be found all over the world, with the exception of the northern regions. The flight of the swallow is not speedy, usually the speed is 5-10 km / h at an altitude of 7-9 meters above ground or water. At the same time she is very maneuverable, as she needs to catch insects in the air. In flight over the water can simultaneously perform bathing, diving into the water.

Food

Swallows are insectivorous.In the air during the flight, they catch the insects with their beaks wide open. In bad weather birds can eat some berries, seeds and dead insects. Prolonged precipitation can create problems for finding food, leading to the swallowing of a swallow dying. Flying over the water, birds immerse the beaks in the water and scoop up moisture for drinking.

Nesting

Spring swallows arrive around April,they build nests of mud and vegetable fibers on the beams, under the roofs of houses or on the ledges of rocks, inside they cover with their straw and down. The existing nests are often updated and reused for almost 50 years. The time from the beginning of the construction of the nest to the departure of the young is from 44 to 58 days. Due to too fast construction or humidity, the nests can collapse or fall.

To build a house, birds collect dirt from thethe edges of ponds, puddles and ditches, for complete construction it will be necessary to fly from the puddle to the nest about 1000 times. Gathering dirt and building nests - social activities for rock swallows. On the surface of the puddles there are numerous small holes from their beaks.

Swallows songs

The sounds that the bird makes are like gurglingand chirping. So the swallows communicate with each other when they feed the babies, fly up to the nests and if there is a danger. The sound is low, soft, hoarse, like a creaking door.

Reproduction

These birds are usually monogamous, retaincommunication with one partner. Marital ties for one season are also found, in rare cases the male has two females. Often birds nest in colonies. It is usually aggressive to protect a small area around the nest from other individuals of the paired swallow. The description of reproduction and development is as follows:

In laying - from three to five eggs about 14 mm in diameter.
During the season there may be two broods.
Chicks hatch on the 12-17th day. Newly fed juveniles are fed by both parents.
Among the rock swallows, the “cuckoo effect” is common, when females lay eggs in foreign nests or shift them from their nests to neighboring ones.
Toddlers start flying from the age of 25 days.
After they learn to fly, the young remain in the nest, and the parents continue to feed them. They leave the nest after a few days and remain in the area for several weeks.

Migration

The main reason for seasonal migration isthe absence of insects. On this basis, we can conclude: when the swallows arrive, ticks and mosquitoes will soon bite. For a bird of this small size, the swallow makes impressive migration distances. Birds, as a rule, migrate in breeding flocks, which sometimes number several hundred thousand. The flight can last several months, so the migration path of the swallow will always lie where there is a high level of flying insects. Arrival time depends on the severity of weather conditions.

Swallows are among the first to migrate.in the fall. They gather on wires and bare branches, in wetlands or near lakes and rivers. On the way, spend the night in the reeds. Swallow families recognize each other’s voices and stay together throughout the migration.

These birds are very tenacious and prolific, theirthe number is several tens of millions of individuals and is kept at a stable level, so the threat of their existence at the moment is not. The only drawback is the expansion of the area populated areas and deforestation, but the swallows perfectly cohabit in cities and villages with people. Some people specifically make their homes attractive to these birds so that the swallows eat the pests on their gardens.

Folk signs

There are many folk signs about the weather with which people associate the behavior of such a bird as a swallow. Their description is given below:

To the rain: if the birds bathe and anxiously fly, then to the nest, then from the nest; if the flight is low over water or land.
To dry weather - high flight.
Before the storm - the flight is up and down.