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The barn swallow will mob intruders such as cats or accipiters that venture too close to their nest, often flying very close to the threat. [60] Adult barn swallows have few predators, but some are taken by accipiters, falcons, and owls. Brood parasitism by cowbirds in North America or cuckoos in Eurasia is rare. [6] [37]
The barn swallow and house martin hunt for airborne insects in a manner similar to that of the slightly larger swift, and occasionally mixed groups of the species form. The most noticeable differences between the three types are: The shrill screaming call of the swift distinguishes itself from the more inconspicuous babbling of the swallow.
The chimney swift generally flies quite high, though it descends during cold or rainy weather. [49] When feeding, it regularly occurs in small groups, and sometimes hunts with swallows, particularly barn swallows and purple martins; [21] in mixed-species flocks, it is typically among the lower fliers. [31]
An artificial purple martin nesting colony The barn swallow is the national bird of Estonia. [48] They also are one of the most depicted birds on postage stamps around the world. [49] [50] [51] Swallows coexist well with humans because of their beneficial role as insect eaters, and some species have readily adapted to nesting in and around ...
Barn swallow. Order: Passeriformes Family: Hirundinidae. The family Hirundinidae is adapted to aerial feeding. They have a slender streamlined body, long pointed wings, and a short bill with a wide gape. The feet are adapted to perching rather than walking, and the front toes are partly joined at the base. Bank swallow, Riparia riparia
The cliff swallow's average body length is 13 cm (5.1 in), and they have short legs and small bills with relatively long pointed wings. [5] [6] Adult cliff swallows have an overall dark brownish plumage covering both their back and wings, and they have a characteristic white forehead, rich red-coloured cheeks with a dark throat, basic white underparts and a buffy-coloured rump.
The western house martin flies with a wing beat averaging 5.3 beats per second, which is faster than the wing beat of 4.4 beats per second for the barn swallow, [12] but the flight speed of 11 m/s (36 ft/s) is typical for hirundines. [13] The western house martin is a noisy species, especially at its breeding colonies.
The wasps, bees, and ants together make up the suborder (and clade) Apocrita, characterized by a constriction between the first and second abdominal segments called a wasp-waist , also involving the fusion of the first abdominal segment to the thorax. Also, the larvae of all Apocrita lack legs, prolegs, or ocelli.