Due to heavy reconstruction of this webpage, this blog is temporary suspended to renew in this summer, it will be updated again after late-autumn, thank you for your visits in these 9 years.

8 November 2014

Bank Swallow

Bank Swallow (灰沙燕)
USA (2013)
Mountain Bluebird (山藍鳥) ; Evening Grosbeak (黃昏錫嘴雀)
USA (2014)
5th April, 2014. Audubon

Bank Swallow is the smallest swallow in North America and can be found on every continent except Antarctica. About five inches long, the slender bird digs nesting burrows in riverbanks, gravel pits and even highway cuts. Both males and females help dig the tunnel, first pecking out a shallow hole with their beaks, then using their feet to kick out the dirt.

Like all swallows, Bank Swallows are agile songbirds that specialize in catching insects in midair. A typical Bank Swallow colony can have anywhere from ten to nearly 2,000 nests. A sandbank riddled with holes, especially one near a river or lake, is likely to be the home of a colony of Bank Swallows.

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