Educate Yourself About the Cliff Swallow and Other Swallows
Cliff Swallow
(Petrochelidon pyrrhonota)
The Cliff Swallow has a short bill, broad square head, dark throat, rusty or buffy rump, and a short, square tail. Its length is 5-6in (13-15cm) Its wingspan is 13-14in (34-35cm) Its voice is a song of creaking calls, and guttural gratings, with “zayrp”, and low “chur”. Their eggs are white with sometimes 2 clutches, consisting of 4-5 or (3-6) eggs.
Both male and female incubate for about 14-16 days, and the fledging time is around 21-24 days. Both male and female fed their young.Males and female look alike.
Cliff Swallows can be found all across America, but they do not do well in cold, rainy weather during spring time, which reduces their food supply greatly, and can therefore be devastating to local populations. These are the famous swallows you heard about, of the San Louis Obispo church in California, which many people travel to see their arrival in spring time every year.
They are called the Ferraris of the bird world, built for speed and maneuvering, and watching these birds with their streamlined bodies dipping and gliding in the sky is really a treat. The Swallows are master insect eaters, and without them we would have a miserable time at the picnic table.
Their weak feet and short legs are not built for perching in tree tops, you will find them sitting next to road sides, on utility wires, or any other open sitting spots. Their legs are not built for walking either, so you will rarely see a swallow come to the ground, but for gathering mud and grass. They drink and eat on the wing, snatching insects in the air and swooping down to skim a beakful of water from a pond.
Both parents build their mud nests witch contains of hundreds of mud pellets, collected and carried in the beak, one at the time. They are usually cemented or glued under eves of barns, houses, churches, bridges, and so on, close to human dwellings, but some will still nest in canyons, and deep gorges. Sometime they can be found nesting inside a building if there is sufficient light inside, and they can also build their nest on top of an old Barn Swallows nest, if one can be located. The nest will remind you of a bottle, with a 5-7in (10-12.5cm) long entrance tube, sticking out from the side.
In some locations, thousands of individual nests can be found on cliff sides, sitting side by side, but some pairs will nest all by them selves. They look a lot like the Barn Swallows, but for bright rusty-orange rump, and a grey light-colored collar on the back of the neck.
If you like to attract Cliff Swallows, Tree Swallows (witch are common in most of the U.S. but for the southern parts), Barn Swallows or Violet-green Swallows (which are common west of the Great Plains). Provide a large pond and bird houses with a 1 ½ inch entrance hole, or nest shelf’s for the Barn Swallows might do the trick. Creating a mud puddle with a large enough area around it, where the birds can easily get airborne, might also entice them to visit your lovely bird feeding garden. Scattering some white chicken or duck feathers across the lawn can be irresistible temptations, and planting insect attracting perennials or shrubs will help as well.
