Latest Swallow Stories
Cell Press Millions of birds die in the US each year as they collide with moving vehicles, but things have been looking up, at least in the case of cliff swallows. Today's swallows are hit less often, thanks to shorter wingspans that may help them take off more quickly and pivot away from passing cars. The findings, reported in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on March 18, show that urban environments can be evolutionary hotspots. "Evolution is an ongoing process, and all...
HARRISBURG, Pa., Jan. 22, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- If you are interested in connecting with wildlife in your own backyard, beginning Monday, Jan. 28, the Pennsylvania Game Commission will be selling bluebird nesting boxes at its Harrisburg headquarters at 2001 Elmerton Avenue. The boxes sell for $10.60 (includes sales tax), and customers can select from assembled boxes or kits that can be assembled as a wood-working project. "Bluebirds are early nesters, so now is the time to...
HARRISBURG, Pa., Jan. 20, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- If you are interested in connecting with wildlife in your own backyard, beginning Monday, Jan. 23, the Pennsylvania Game Commission will be selling bluebird nesting boxes at its Harrisburg headquarters at 2001 Elmerton Avenue. The boxes sell for $9.54 (includes sales tax), and customers can select from assembled boxes or kits that can be assembled as a wood-working project. "Bluebirds are early nesters, so now is the time to...
A new University of Colorado at Boulder study indicates North American barn swallows outperform their peers in reproduction -- the "currency" of evolutionary change -- by maintaining a positive balance of antioxidants commonly sold in health food stores.The study is the first to track concentrations of carotenoids, which are naturally occurring plant pigments, in a wild bird or animal species over the course of the grueling breeding season. Carotenoids can offer the benefits...
HARRISBURG, Pa., Feb. 2 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- If you are interested in helping wildlife in your own backyard, the Pennsylvania Game Commission now is selling bluebird nesting boxes at its Harrisburg headquarters at 2001 Elmerton Avenue. The boxes sell for $7, and customers can select from assembled boxes or kits that can be assembled as a wood-working project. "Bluebirds are early nesters, so now is the time put up new nest boxes, as well as to clean and repair existing boxes," said...
Naming South Korea's swallows a national treasure will highlight their decline and help protect habitat, the nation's Cultural Heritage Administration said. The swallow, once a familiar site in South Korean life, has nearly disappeared in many areas of the country, said Lee In-kyu, a heritage spokesman. The swallow in Korean classical literature is described as a messenger that brings news of a person's reward for good deeds and news of punishment for bad deeds, The Chosun IIbo reported...
A manipulation of breast feather color results in higher testosterone levels for male barn swallowsIn the world of birds, where fancy can be as fleeting as flight, the color of the bird apparently has a profound effect on more than just its image. A new study of barn swallows reveals it also affects the bird's physiology.A team of researchers, including one from Arizona State University, found in an experiment that involved artificially coloring the breast feathers of male barn swallows the...
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Even after they have paired with a male, the female North American barn swallow still comparison-shops for sexual partners. And forget personality; the females judge males by their looks -- the reddish color of the males' breast and belly feathers. If the male's red breast is not as dark as other males in the population, the female is more likely to leave him and then secretly copulate with another male, according to a Cornell University study featured on the cover of the...
WASHINGTON -- Men who put on a little pot belly after marriage can give thanks that they are not barn swallows. A study published on Thursday shows females of that species keep shopping around even after mating.And these females aren't looking for good providers or even good company. They want only the best-looking birds, a research team at Cornell University in New York found."The bad news for male swallows is the mating game is never over," said Rebecca Safran, who led the study...
Latest Swallow Reference Libraries
The Swallow-tailed Gull (Creagrus furcatus) is a species of seabird of the gull family. It is found in the equatorial seas where it spends most of its time hunting on the open ocean. Its main breeding grounds is on the cliffs of the larger Galápagos Islands, and on some of the smaller islands. It is typically found along the eastern islands where the water is warmer. It is also found in smaller numbers on Malpelo Island off the coast of Colombia. It is the only fully nocturnal seabird in...
The Swallow-tailed Bee-eater (Merops hirundineus) is a species of bird in the bee-eater family Meropidae. It is found in savannah woodlands of sub-Saharan Africa. It prefers more wooded country than most bee-eaters. It is somewhat migratory depending on rainfall patterns. This is a richly colored, slender bird, like other bee-eater species. Its colors and easily seen forked tail make this species unique. It is mostly green with a yellow throat and black eye stripe and beak. It is about...
The Cliff Swallow, Petrochelidon pyrrhonota, is a member of the perching bird family Hirundinidae. It breeds in North America and Mexico, and is migratory, wintering in southern South America. This species has always been plentiful in the west of North America, where there are many natural sites, but the abundance in the east has varied. These birds average 5 inches long with a tiny bill. The adult has a shimmering blue back and crown, brown wings and tail, and buff rump. The nape and...
The Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica, or Hirundo daurica) is a small perching bird in the swallow family. It breeds in open hilly country of temperate southern Europe and Asia from Portugal and Spain to Japan, India and tropical Africa. The Indian and African birds are resident, but European and other Asian birds are migratory. They winter in Africa or India. Red-rumped Swallows are somewhat similar in habits and appearance to the other aerial insectivores, such as the related swallows...
The House Martin, Delichon urbica, is a migratory perching bird of the family Hiruninidae. The European range of the House Martin roughly corresponds with that of its relative the Barn Swallow, and it also winters in tropical Africa. The adult House Martin is steel-blue above with a white rump, and white underparts. Its short legs and toes have white downy feathering. Its bill is black. The young bird is sooty black, and some of the coverts and quills have white tips and edgings. The white...
