Cliff Swallow

Photo by Ingrid Taylar on Wikimedia

Petrochelidon pyrrhonota
 
I probably have more experience with Cliff Swallows than any other Swallow species. We used to treat orphaned babies at California Wildlife Center. Once they fledged, we would need to train them to catch food on-the-wing. This involved holding a mealworm up with a pair of hemostats (kind of like forceps) and waiting for a bird to fly by and grab it. Here is a post about it.
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There are a lot of canyons in Southern California, so it makes sense that Angelinos would see a lot of this species. As their name suggests, Cliff Swallows build their mud nests on the sides of cliffs. However, they are not above building their nests on highway overpasses.

Cliff Swallows have a longer migration than the last two species I talked about. They breed in North America, from Alaska through Mexico, and over-winter in South America. Like other swallow species, they hunt insects, but will often fly at higher elevations than other species.

I hope you enjoyed this look at some of our North American Swallow species. Let me know if you have any suggestions for other feature weeks!

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