Types of swallows - Characteristics, Feeding and Legislation

2024 Author: Carl Johnson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 06:19

Types of swallows - Characteristics and feeding

Swallows are, along with house martins and swifts, insectivorous birds that fly through our skies during spring and summer. These animals migrate During the cold months of the northern hemisphere, these birds are in the south, in places like Africa, Argentina and even Australia and, when the heat starts, they return to their nesting sites in the north.

In this article on our site we will talk about the types of swallows that exist, their main characteristics, feeding, what species exist and others many curiosities that you will love to know.

Characteristics of swallows

Swallows belong, like planes, to the family Hirundinidae These birds are characterized by having a fusiform body, that is,, body elongated and elliptical, like a spindle. Their wings are very long, usually longer than the body. The tail, in most cases, is forked, in the shape of a "V".

Its beak is very small, but when you open it, you can see that the mouth is huge by comparison. Something essential for your way of eating.

Swallows live in a multitude of different habitats, from deserts to steppes, riverside forests, crops and grasslands. They only need a little mud to build their nests. Some species, such as the Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica), live on almost every continent in the world.

Types of swallows - Characteristics and feeding - Characteristics of swallows

What do swallows eat?

Swallows are insectivorous animals and, therefore, their main sustenance is insects, but how do swallows really feed? As we said, swallows have a very small beak, yet their mouth opening is huge comparatively. These animals, when they are in flight, open their mouths and a multitude of small insects slip into it.

The insects that swallows feed on are the so-called "aeroplankton" Millions of small arthropods that move through the air, such as, for example, mosquitoes. Swallows are our allies in the fight against these annoying hematophagous insects during the long summer afternoons.

The Barn Swallow

Since there are more than 70 types of swallows, we will focus on the Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica), a very cosmopolitan bird. They live on all continents except Antarctica Swallows that nest in North America spend the winter in South America, those that breed in Europe spend the cold months in Africa and the barn swallows that nest in Asia, migrate to the southernmost areas of the same continent, some reaching as far north as Australia.

Barn Swallows have black plumage with metallic bluish tinges The belly is cream-coloured. The forehead and neck are red and, at the end of the tail, on the dorsal area, they present a series of white ovals when they are extended. Their wings are black, long and pointed, which allows them to be very skilled at flying.

Swallows like to live in open areas, where there are human buildings for the construction of their nests. In addition, they need the presence of water nearby to make mud that, together with their saliva, will shape the nest.

Are swallow nests protected?

Swallows, martins and swifts are animals protected by royal decree, in addition to other European and national directives. This means that they do not belong to the hunting fauna, they cannot be hunted or mistreated. But what about their nests?

There is national legislation that protects both the eggs and the young of these animals and, therefore, their nests. If the nests of these birds are destroyed or damaged, an offense classified as serious would be committed, punishable by fines of €5,001 to €200,000

Because of all this, nests cannot be removed once they have been built, only under certain circumstances and with authorization from the competent autonomous body. As long as they are not raising the animals at the time.

We must remember that these types of birds only bring us benefits, they are very effective insectivores, capable of preying more than 600 mosquitoes per individual per night Let us also remember that mosquitoes act as vectors of multiple diseases that they transmit to dogs and people.

There are ways to prevent their droppings from damaging building facades. In addition, these droppings are a perfect fertilizer for plants, so their accumulation, collection and processing is a benefit for everyone.

Types of swallows - Characteristics and feeding - Are swallow nests protected?

List of swallow species

The different types of swallows are classified according to several characteristics, among them are:

The shape of their nests: some are like saucers, others circular with a long tube, others simply circular with a hole, others entirely tubular, some species do not build nests and instead use natural cavities, etc.
The coloration of their feathers: there are bicolor swallows, white and black, other species are totally black, some have the head and the rump with orange tones, some species have brown tones…
The size or wingspan: the wingspan of the different species of swallows range between 10 and 20 centimeters.