Petrochelidon pyrrhonota
The American Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) is a compact and highly social passerine renowned for its impressive colonial nesting habits and striking plumage. Measuring approximately 13-15 cm (5-6 inches) in length with a wingspan of 28-33 cm (11-13 inches) and weighing 19-27 grams, it boasts an iridescent blue-black back, a contrasting white to buffy-white belly, and a distinctive dark rufous throat. Key identification marks include a pale, often creamy-white, forehead patch that c...
Found in open country, often near water, at various elevations. It primarily uses vertical surfaces like cliffs, canyons, and human-made structures (bridges, buildings) for nesting.
Exclusively insectivorous, feeding primarily on a wide variety of flying insects caught on the wing, including flies, beetles, bees, and wasps.
American Cliff Swallows are strictly diurnal, spending their days foraging and maintaining their colossal colonies, and roosting communally at night, often near their nests. They are quintessential aerial insectivores, hawking insects with agile, swooping flight over open fields, water bodies, an...
The breeding range of the American Cliff Swallow spans across much of North America, from Alaska and throughout Canada, across the contiguous United States, and extending south into northern Mexico. They nest wherever suitable vertical surfaces and mud sources are available, primarily above 600 m...
Least Concern
- A single American Cliff Swallow nest can be constructed from over 1,000 mud pellets, each carried individually in the bird's beak. - They are one of the few bird species known to engage in 'kleptoparasitism,' where individuals steal mud and even nest-lining feathers from their neighbors' nests....