barn swallow

Mystery Bird: Barn Swallow, Hirundo rustica

grrlscientist — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 07:59:17 +0000

Mystery Bird: Barn Swallow, Hirundo rustica

tags: Barn Swallow, Hirundo rustica, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz

~~[Mystery bird]~~ Barn Swallow, Hirundo rustica, photographed at Bob Road, Bolivar Peninsula, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]

Image: Joseph Kennedy, 4 August 2009 [larger view].

Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/500s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.

Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.

Review all mystery birds to date.

grrlscientist Mon, 09/21/2009 - 03:59

cliff swallows: head markings, wing shape on the ground, mud-gathering behaviour

cave swallow: dark rump and sides on the background bird, absence of a dark patch below rufous throat

Barn Swallows Chestnut colored breast, swallow tailed. Gestault,mud gathering.

The bird in the foreground is an immature Barn Swallow. Neither Cave or Cliff Swallows have any white markings on the tail, and in their first summer, Barn Swallows are quite light below. Neither Cliff or Cave Swallows have the throat band.

I agree -- Barn Swallow. I am a little concerned about the tail spots -- I'm not quite sure they're not simply a highlight. Similarly, the throat band might be an effect of the way the feathers are ruffled. Put the two together and they're highly suggestive. I think the final point is visible on the rear bird. The wing linings appear buffy to cinnamon. According to some old, blurry photos, Barn Swallow should be the only one of the three to show this.
I don't believe these birds are gathering mud -- the surface appears dry, and both birds are turned to one side. I'm not sure if they are dust-bathing, or (more likely) anting, where they allow ants to remove parasites from their skins and feathers.

LOL, I wonder where this photo came from...? For comparison, a Cave Swallow, Petrochelidon fulva, and a Barn Swallow, Hirundo rustica, side by side, also photographed in Texas...

(http://scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/2009/01/todays_mystery_bird_for_y…)

However on the photo above, while the bird in the background appears to indeed be a Barn Swallow, I am troubled by the lack of orange on the undertail coverts on the bird in the foreground (is this Carl's "quite light below"?) because I have noted that while immature Barn Swallows are indeed pale on the belly, so too is the throat paler than as pictured above... although again, it is unclear (perhaps lacking) whether there are tail streamers as in mature adults... as this photo was from Texas taken last month and Barn Swallows are typically the last swallow to migrate South, even as late as early Winter, perhaps this was an immature bird a month prior to this photo and will be "mature" bird right about now... exactly when does "immature" become "mature"?! Is this a tweenie H.r.erythrogaster?

I apologise, apparently I cut off part of the URL... the side by side comparison of Cave and Barn as presented by Grrl in January 2009 can be found here:

http://scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/2009/01/todays_mystery_bird_for_y…

Hi, my first impression was juvenile Barn Swallow with an adult in the background, my experience of Cliff and Cave is limited but these two here appear to have longer wings than Cliff/Cave. Also the undertail coverts appear to be unmarked.
David, In the UK Barns can have 2 or even three broods so during August there can be a mixture of ages together with earlier broods helping to rear the later ones, I don't know if the same applies in the US.

Both my personal (very blurry) photos and the Nat. Geo. guide show juvenile Barn Swallows with pale undertail coverts. Of course, there is that annoying darker throat. On the other hand, Nat.Geo. shows dark spots on the undertail coverts of both Cliff and Cave.

A little more info on our friend and his "clothes"!

http://www.usnews.com/articles/science/plants-animals/2008/06/03/for-ba…

Mystery Bird: Cave Swallow, Petrochelidon fulva, and Barn Swallow, Hirundo rustica

grrlscientist — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 08:59:59 +0000

Mystery Bird: Cave Swallow, Petrochelidon fulva, and Barn Swallow, Hirundo rustica

tags: Cave Swallow, Petrochelidon fulva, Barn Swallow, Hirundo rustica, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz

~~[Mystery bird]~~ Cave Swallow, Petrochelidon fulva (L) and Barn Swallow, Hirundo rustica (R), photographed at Smith Point, Texas. [I will identify these birds for you tomorrow]

Image: Joseph Kennedy, 24 October 2008 [larger view].

Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/640s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.

Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.

Review all mystery birds to date.

grrlscientist Thu, 01/22/2009 - 03:59

Swallows Shed New Light on Looks vs. Testosterone

bleimanb — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 13:15:48 +0000

Swallows Shed New Light on Looks vs. Testosterone

A new study of barn swallows has shed fascinating light on the link between appearance and the levels of sexual hormones in their bodies. Scientists have long noted that male swallows with deeper red throats attract more females and have higher levels of testosterone. Conventional wisdom assumed that swallows born with more testosterone had deeper throats and thus attracted more females. Turns out, however, that this is only partially true.

Who's the private dick who's the sex machine with all the chicks?....Artificially painted barn swallow! Awwwwwww yeah.

University of Colorado, Boulder, ecologist Rebecca Safran wanted to see what would happen if she painted deep red throats on male swallows who previously did not have them. The result was somewhat staggering: Not only did the...

newly painted males attract more females and make other males jealous, but their bodies also produced significantly higher levels of testosterone almost immediately. It appears that the other birds' behavior toward the newly painted males led to their testosterone levels naturally increasing. One theory is that male barn swallows are more aggressive to these dark and handsome suitors causing the testosterone levels to increase. Alternatively, the increased attention from female swallows may cause the increase. It is also possible that simply lookin' good increased the swallows' confidence.

Kevin McGraw of Arizona State University's School of Life Sciences who also worked on the study told U.S. News and World Report, "The traditional view is that internal processes of birds determine their external features--in other words, physiology forms the feathers. But our results indicate that a perceived change in the color of an animal can affect directly its internal physiological state. A barn swallow's hormonal profile is influenced by its outward appearance."

Have you ever been dressed to the nines and walked by a hipster with an old t-shirt and ripped jeans on and just instinctively known that you could beat his ass if you wanted to? I don't think this relates to the whole swallow thing. I just wanted to know if that's ever happened to you. It happens to me like every single day in San Francisco.

bleimanb Wed, 06/11/2008 - 09:15