Bird name:

Bank Swallow

Riparia riparia

Order

PASSERIFORMES

Family

Swallows (Hirundinidae)

Code 4

BANS

Code 6

RIPRIP

ITIS

178436

Breeding Location:

Grassland with scattered trees

Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Colonial

Breeding Population:

Widespread

Egg Color:

White

Number of Eggs:

3 - 7

Incubation Days:

14 - 16

Egg Incubator:

Both sexes

Nest Material:

Lined with grass, rootlets, weed stems, horsehair, and feathers.

Migration:

Migratory

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General

Bank Swallow: Small swallow with brown upperparts, white underparts that curl up onto throat, and brown breast band. Tail is notched. Sexes are similar. Juvenile has faint wing-bars and a grizzled appearance on head.

Range and Habitat

Bank Swallow: Breed from Alaska across northern Canada south to California, Texas, and Virginia. Spends winters in the tropics and the Old World. Preferred habitats include riverbanks, creeks, seashores, and lakes.

Breeding and Nesting

Bank Swallow: Three to seven white eggs are laid in a grass and feather nest in a chamber at the end of a deep tunnel, usually near the top of a steep bank. Nests in colonies; nesting banks may sometimes appear riddled with holes. Incubation ranges from 14 to 16 days and is carried out by both parents.

Foraging and Feeding

Bank Swallow: Feeds mostly on flying insects such as termites, treehoppers, leafhoppers, beetles, moths, and flies that it captures on the wing. Occasionally preys upon spiders or ants if there is a scarcity of aerial prey; forages singly or in flocks.

Vocalization

Bank Swallow: Song is a sharp, unmusical "pret" or "trit-trit".

Similar Species

Bank Swallow: Northern Rough-winged and immature Tree swallows are generally larger and lack dark breast band.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Underparts

Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

Breast

The upper front part of a bird.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America