Do they ever land on the ground?
These delightful migrant birds appear in the UK in spring and summer to breed, and then fly south again in the autumn to overwinter in warmer climes. They are known to eat, sleep, drink, wash and even mate in flight, but they do all land to collect nesting materials, to nest and to bring up their young. Swallows and martins can often be seen in autumn gathering in numbers on telegraph wires before migrating.NESTING SITES
While it is fair to say that few birds spend more time in the air than swifts, martins and swallows, and although it is true that they can do just about everything in flight – feed, eat, sleep and mate – they do of course alight to nest and to feed their young. The swift favours nesting in holes in cliffs and buildings, the swallow creates a cup-shaped nest high under the eaves of buildings, and the martin builds its nest in cliffs and rooftops. Swallows will often return to the same nesting area year after year.
A hungry brood of swallows in a characteristic, cup-shaped nest.
Apus apus
Swift (UK) Chimney Swift (USA)
Size – 15–18 cm (6–7 in) long.
Appearance – Has dark blue-brown plumage with sickle-shaped wings and a short forked tail.
Habitat – Villages and towns.
Food – Insects eaten while on the wing; the wide-gaping mouth scoops up high-flying insects by means of a specially adapted, funnel-shaped fringe of bristles that ring the face.
Nesting – Nests on buildings (in holes, on ledges and high up under overhanging eaves) and in holes in cliffs, using the same nest for several years in a row. Once a year, lays a clutch of 2–3 eggs. The parents store up food in large throat pouches, and then feed the young with small pellets – a mix of insects and saliva. Having stayed in the nest for about 40 days, the young fly away, never to return.
Comments – The swift spends most of its life in the air. They winter in Africa, arrive in countries like the UK and USA in spring, and leave in late summer.
Delichon urbicaHouse Martin (UK)
Common House Martin (USA)
Size – 10–13 cm (4–5 in) long.
Appearance – Has blue-black-brown upper parts and white underside, and appears in flight to have a white bar across the width of the lower back.
Habitat – Can be seen in towns, but prefers villages and open countryside.
Food – Insects eaten while on the wing.
Nesting – Usually builds its nest on the outside of a building in a sheltered spot under the eaves. There may be 2–3 broods of 4–5 young each throughout the summer. While returning house martins do sometimes come back to the same site and even to the same nest, it is also true to say that a single nest might, in any one year, be used by a number of different migrants.
Comments – Traditionally, it was thought to be a good omen to have house martins nesting under your house eaves – a sign that the household was content, lucky and long-lived. Summer visitors.
Hirundo rusticaMale in flightAdult feeding young
Swallow (UK) Barn Swallow (USA)
Size – 15–21 cm (6–8½ in) long.
Appearance – Blue-black on the head and back, and white on the underside, with red-russet details around the face and throat. In flight, depending upon the manoeuvre, the tail feathers are seen as either a long fork or two parallel feathers.
Habitat – Just about everywhere, but they seem to prefer villages, open countryside and farm buildings near slow-moving water.
Food – Insects eaten while on the wing.
Nesting – Nests in cup-shaped nests high up, usually inside buildings on roof beams or ledges. Raises 2–3 broods a year.
Comments – One of the few birds that regularly inhabits buildings. Summer visitors from Africa.
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