Cliff Swallows
While leading a photo workshop this year, my small group of photographers had a visit from a flock of interesting birds. There were over 300 individual birds that were swooping and diving all around us. I instantly recognized these birds as Cliff Swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota).
Cliff Swallows are an extremely social bird, which is to say they are always in large groups while migrating, hunting for food, nesting, or just hanging out. During the spring migration, groups of hundreds and even thousands fly from their winter locations in South America up through Central America and into the United States and Canada. They nest from Texas to Alaska and from coast to coast.
The Cliff Swallow is closely related to the more familiar Tree Swallow or Barn Swallow, both of which are common backyard nesting birds in most areas of the country. The Cliff Swallow nests communally in groups of upwards of 500 nesting pairs in one colony. Despite their name, Cliff Swallows mostly nest under small and large bridges. Which begs the question: where did these swallows nest before humans built bridges? Of course, they found rock cliffs and built their nests there.
Their nests are architectural marvels. Each nest is constructed with over a thousand tiny mud pellets. The mud is gathered near the nest site. They roll up a small ball of mud and carry it back to their nest one tiny pellet at a time. They stack up the mud pellets one on top of another to slowly construct a large gourd-shaped structure with a funnel or short tunnel-like entrance hole. When the mud dries, it forms an extraordinarily strong nest. They will construct their nests so close to one another that the sides of the nests often merge into one another. To me, they look like tiny adobe houses.
In the house, which they can use for several years in a row, they lay 3 to 4 eggs. Interestingly, they brood-parasitize neighboring nests, where the females may lay their eggs in a neighbor’s nest in addition to their own nest. While this may sound strange, in reality, spreading your eggs, or more accurately, your genes, around means you are more likely to have your offspring survive. Also, having someone else raise your young means less energy expended by yourself, which is always beneficial.
Just like other swallow species, the Cliff Swallow feeds on insects. They are like tiny vacuums; they can catch several thousand insects per day. That means over a one-year time span, one individual Cliff Swallow can consume half a million to a million bugs. And that is just one individual bird. Now try to imagine what an entire colony of these birds can consume. This makes these birds especially important in natural insect control.
These birds spend most of their lives flying, which means their legs and feet are short and small. There is no need to do a lot of walking. Overall, the Cliff Swallow is only about 5 inches long and has short, pointed wings. In flight, they dip and glide, followed by rapid wingbeats to gain altitude again. As you can imagine, they are extremely fast flyers. This is why, when a large flock of Cliff Swallows descended upon my group of photographers, everyone was trying to capture some in-flight images. This kind of wildlife photography is particularly challenging but highly rewarding if you capture a good shot.
Male and female Cliff Swallows have the same plumage. This isn’t very common in the swallows or even the small bird world. They are dark overall with a distinctive rusty rump and chin. But what really stands out to me is a small tan to white forehead, just behind the bill. This feature really stands out when you see these birds in flight. Next time you see a flock of small birds, stop and look for the white spot on the forehead to see if they are the amazing Cliff Swallow. Until next time…
About Stan
Stan Tekiela is an author, naturalist, and wildlife photographer who travels extensively to study and photograph wildlife. He can be followed on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube, and contacted via his website at naturesmart.com.