Swallow

House Martin ( Delichon urbicum ) in flight

The Swallows ( Hirundinidae ) are a diverse family of the order Passeriformes ( Passeriformes ), subordination songbirds ( Passeres ). Swallows feed on flying insects in Central Europe they are migratory birds. The typical bifurcated dovetail was for other objects (eg the Butterfly) namesake, as well as the characteristic nesting (eg for the ruins of Swallow's Nest Swallow's Nest or the organ). Swifts and terns do not belong to this family.

  • 4.1 Possible confusion
  • 5.1 nesting on houses
  • 5.2 Schwalbe houses

Features

Swallows have a slender, streamlined body and long, narrow wings. The beak is short and can be opened wide. The feet are tiny and for gripping, little to go. Many species have long tails.

Behavior

Nutrition and altitude

Characteristic of the swallows is its adaptation to foraging in the air: they capture mainly flying insects. The altitude of these insects increased massively in good weather by rising warm air masses. However, since they fly much lower under its own power, you can from a low altitude of the swallows to their prey and thus to low pressure ( bad weather) close.

Since the advent of flying insects in northern and central Europe is minimized in winter swallows must then move into their winter quarters.

Nesting

The nest of swallows is characteristic and is performed primarily in hard to reach places. Particularly good adhesive body secretions are required for the construction, which are provided in the swallow saliva. The evolution of this nest-building behavior and endogenously produced substances requisite permits phylogenetic inferences.

Colony forming swallows Hirundo as pyrrhonota tend their eggs neighbors foist to hatch ( in colonies with more than ten nests ).

Dissemination

Swallows are found on all continents except for Antarctica. Many species are restricted to narrower distribution areas, the Barn Swallow and Sand Martin are on both sides of the Atlantic encountered migratory birds. In Central Europe, four species are native:

  • Crag Martin ( Ptyonoprogne rupestris )
  • House Martin ( Delichon urbica )
  • Barn Swallow ( Hirundo rustica)
  • Sand Martin ( Riparia riparia )

System

The family includes two subfamilies, 19 genera and about 83 species. The classification also takes into account molecular biological studies.

  • Subfamily Pseudochelidoninae Pseudochelidon - 2 types African Mirage swallow Pseudochelidon eurystomina
  • Sirintaraschwalbe Pseudochelidon sirintarae
  • Alopochelidon Fox swallow A. fucata
  • White-backed Swallow Ch leucosternus
  • Barn Swallow H. rustica
  • Red-rumped Swallow H. daurica
  • Pale -throated Swallow H. aethiopica
  • Rotkappenschwalbe H. smithii
  • Mohr H. Schwalbe nigrita
  • White-tailed Swallow H. megaensis
  • Little Tern tibial nerve
  • Blassfußschwalbe ( N. flavipes )
  • Cap Swallow ( N. pileata )
  • Mouse Swallow ( N. murina )
  • Schwarzsteißschwalbe ( N. cyanoleuca )
  • Rotkehlschwalbe ( P. rufigula )
  • Rotmeerschwalbe ( P. perdita )
  • Cliff Swallow ( P. spilodera )
  • Bronze Swallow ( P. fuliginosa )
  • Tree Swallow ( P. nigricans )
  • Blue Swallow ( P. elegans)
  • Brown Chest Swallow ( P. tapera )
  • Galapagos Swallow ( P. modesta )
  • Pectoral Swallow ( P. chalybea )
  • Cuba Swallow ( P. cryptoleuca )
  • Dominican Swallow ( P. dominicensis )
  • Peru Swallow ( P. murphyi )
  • Purple Martin ( P. subis )
  • Sinaloaschwalbe ( P. sinaloae )
  • Graubürzelschwalbe Ps griseopyga
  • Crag Martin Pt. rupestris
  • Sand Martin R. riparia
  • Brown -throated Sand Martin R. paludicola
  • Tachycineta - 8 species Violet Swallow T. thalassina
  • Tree Swallow ( T. bicolor)

Possible confusion

May be assigned to non swallows species of the following families:

  • Terns ( Sternidae ) of order Charadriiformes ( gulls occasionally assigned )
  • Swift ( Apodidae ) of order Swifts, here among the native to Europe swifts

Coexistence with humans

Nest on houses

Swallows are welcome Insektenvertilger and are therefore already long in agriculture welcome. Their nests on buildings are traditionally respected by the people. The built in non-agricultural residential nests of house martins are, however, often eliminated by the residents due to the pollution of the house walls by Nistbaumaterial and fecal excretions of the swallows, although this is prohibited by the German Federal Nature Conservation Act ( § 44 para 1 Federal Nature Conservation Act ).

By placing Kotbrettern the pollution can be prevented.

Swallow homes

Since the 1890s swallow houses are set up as an artificial nest boxes for swallows. Due to the abandonment of agricultural enterprises many of barn swallows nesting sites were lost in (cow ) stables. Schwalbe homes offer the colony nesting birds a new way to big to pull offspring.

Other names and proverbs

Swallows are also called " Lady Bird " according to the following proverbs, in the Baden region are known:

  • " On the day of the Nativity of Mary, the swallows fly wade. " (September 8 )
  • " Marie proclamation they come again. " (March 25 )
  • " One swallow does not make a summer. " ( Aesop, see Related links)
  • " When swallows fly low, you will get rain. They fly up in stately tread, the weather is still quite nice! "
Nicholas Aylward Vigors Aerodynamics Vertical draft Endogeny Phylogenetics Cosmopolitan distribution Bird migration Eurasian Crag Martin Peruvian Martin Pisciotta Weather lore Digital Object Identifier
393383
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