General

Cave Swallow: Small swallow (Southwest pelodoma), with steel-blue upperparts, white underparts, and rufous wash on breast and sides. Forehead is chestnut-brown and throat and rump are buff. Tail is square. Sexes are similar.

Range and Habitat

Cave Swallow: This species breeds in throughout much of Texas, extreme southeastern New Mexico, and rarely in southern Arizona. It is a resident in northern Mexico, the Yucatan Peninsula, and parts of the West Indies. Spends winters in tropics. Preferred habitats include open country near caves and cliffs.

Breeding and Nesting

Cave Swallow: Three to five white eggs marked with brown are laid in a nest made of clay pellets and mud, lined with grass and a few feathers, and plastered to the side of a cave, sinkhole, bridge, culvert, building, or even a drainage pipe. Incubation ranges from 15 to 18 days and is carried out by both parents.

Foraging and Feeding

Cave Swallow: Feeds on insects; forages in flight.

Vocalization

Cave Swallow: Song is a series of dry warbling, buzzing chatters. Call is "chu-chu" or "zweih."

Similar Species

Cave Swallow: Cliff Swallow has chestnut-brown throat and white forehead, or, in the southwest, a chestnut-brown forehead.