Swallows are small birds with dark backs glittering with blue, rust-coloured throats, white bellies and long forked, streamer-like tails. As they fly, they can look totally black – their long forked tail and skimming flight help us to identify them.
Swallows chatter and burble to each other when they sit on wires or along the edges of buildings - they may even wake you up! They fly north to Europe in springtime to breed, nest and raise their young. You can see them in the Cyprus from February to September.
Swallows build nests of saliva and mud in the shape of a small bowl.
How to recognise a swallow from swift?
The Swift is notably larger than a Swallow, its wings are longer, narrower, and scythe-shaped. The Swallow has more 'flexible' wings, that one can clearly see fold. The tail of a Swallow is much longer and noticeably forked.
How to recognise a young swallow?
Young Swallows are a bit smaller and have have shorter tails than their parents. If you live on a farm or near older buildings, you can probably find a nest in some of the buildings, under a wooden beam or a rafter. If you are very quiet you might see a little bit of Swallow family life – there may be some chicks being fed insects by their parents.
What do they eat?
Mostly flying insects, more rarely insects picked up in flight from the ground or water surface. Sometimes they can also be caught when as they perch on plants or rest on the ground.
Swallows' nests
The nest is usually hidden under the eaves of a building or under a structure such as a bridge. It usually has the form of a quarter of a sphere made of mud or clay mixed with long blades of grass and straws. It is attached to a wall, beam, cornice; it is always open from the top.
Wintering
Wintering sites of European swallows are in the western part of Africa, from the equatorial zone up to the south edge of the continent.
Population of Swallows in Europe
Swallows are common and their population is quite stable in Europe, although destruction of their environment and natural surroundings could make Swallows disappear from our continent.Many Swallows stay to breed in Cyprus, while an even larger number pass through our island on their migration to other parts of Europe.
