Handbook of Nature-Study · Lesson XXVII · Topic 2: Bird study: birds to know
27. The swallows and swifts
Goal: Your child can tell several kinds of swallows apart by tail and color, and tell any swallow from the chimney swift.
You'll need
- Binoculars
- A place where swallows hunt: over a pond, river, field or barn
- A bird book or app with the five swallows and the swift
- Nature notebook
What's in the book
The leading thought and method (an outline for field observation; swallows and swifts studied together to tell them apart) and twenty-nine questions in sections: swallows in general, the eave or cliff swallow, the barn swallow, the bank swallow, the tree swallow, the purple martin, and the chimney swift.
The lesson, step by step
When and where
Late spring and summer. Swallows hunt low over water and fields, especially in the evening. Look for mud nests under bridges and barn eaves, holes in sandy banks, nest boxes, and martin houses. Chimney swifts circle over towns and drop into chimneys at dusk. This is a big lesson: take two or three visits, one section at a time.
Keep the big idea in mind
Read this to yourself:
The swallows are very graceful birds and are exceedingly swift fliers. They feed upon insects which they catch upon the wing.
The chimney swift, although often called so, is not a swallow; it is more nearly related to the hummingbird than to the swallows.
Swallows in flight
Is the tail noticeably forked especially during flight?
Describe the flight of the swallow. What is the purpose of its long, swift flight?
In what particular locations do you see the swallows darting about? At what time of day do they seem most active?
Barn and eave (cliff) swallows
Where does the barn swallow place its nest? What is the shape of the nest? Of what material is it made?
What are the differences between the barn and the eave swallow in color and shape of tail?
The barn swallow has a long, deeply forked tail; the cliff swallow has a square tail and a pale rump patch. Watch nests only from a distance, never touch or take a nest or eggs (that is against the law for most wild birds in the United States), and back away if the parents scold.
Bank and tree swallows
Where do the bank swallows build? What sort of soil do they choose?
How does a bank look which is tenanted by these birds?
Look from below; never climb or dig in a sand bank, which can collapse.
How can we encourage the tree swallow to build near our houses?
The chimney swift
At dusk in summer, watch for swifts over town: they look like flying cigars with stiff, curved wings.
Describe how the chimney swifts enter their nesting place at night.
How can you distinguish the chimney swift from the swallows?
Put it into words
Ask your child how to tell a swallow from a swift, and a barn swallow from a cliff swallow. Then share the leading thought.
Nature notebook
Draw the outlines of a barn swallow, a tree swallow and a chimney swift in flight, side by side, so the tails and wings can be compared. Add a mud nest if you saw one.
Afterwards
Over the summer, take one section of Comstock's questions at a time: eave swallow, barn swallow, bank swallow, tree swallow, purple martin, chimney swift.
Tip
On late summer evenings, hundreds of swifts sometimes swirl into one big chimney to roost. Local bird clubs often know where to watch.