Tree Swallow 344630 223363678 2008-07-03T19:25:43Z Ken Thomas 1555265 Updated image to cropped version. {{Taxobox | name = Tree Swallow | status = LC | image = Tachycineta bicolor1.jpg | image_width = 250px | range_map = Tree Swallow-rangemap.gif | range_map_width = 200px | regnum = [[Animal]]ia | phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]] | classis = [[bird|Aves]] | ordo = [[passerine|Passeriformes]] | familia = [[swallow|Hirundinidae]] | genus = ''[[Tachycineta]]'' | species = '''''T. bicolor''''' | binomial = ''Tachycineta bicolor'' | binomial_authority = ([[Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot|Vieillot]], 1808)<!-- , centre of the [[United States of America]]; [[New York]]) [this is the type locality but it should be moved to the text - here it is very confusing] --> | synonyms = ''Iridoprocne bicolor'' }} The '''Tree Swallow''', ''Tachycineta bicolor'', is a [[bird migration|migratory]] [[passerine]] [[bird]] that breeds in [[North America]] and winters in [[Mexico]], [[Central America]] and the [[Caribbean]]. It is a very rare vagrant to western [[Europe]]. This [[swallow]] averages 13.5 cm (5 inches) long and weighs about 20g. The bill is tiny. The adult Tree Swallow has iridescent blue-green upperparts, white underparts, and a very slightly forked tail. The female usually has duller colours than the male, often more greenish than the more bluish male. The juvenile plumage is dull grey-brown above and may have hint of a gray breast band. ==Breeding== Tree Swallows nest in natural or artificial cavities near water and are often found in large flocks. They readily use nest boxes, including those built for [[bluebird]]s. Declines in cavity-builder populations are resulting in fewer natural nesting sites for Tree Swallows, although the swallow population remains healthy. [[Image:Tree Swallow-27527-4c.jpg|thumb|left|200px|<center>Mating Tree Swallows.]] The Tree Swallow nest consists of multiple layers of grasses and thin twigs, and is lined with large feathers from other species. The female lays 4 to 7 white eggs and incubates them by herself. The eggs hatch in about 14 days and the hatchlings are [[altricial]]. The hatchlings typically fledge in 16-24 days. While there are young or eggs in the nest, adults frequently dive bomb intruders (including curious humans) and attempt to drive them from the area. Tree Swallows are known to "fight" over feathers in mid-air for reasons which are still under investigation. There is some speculation that this is a form of play. Tree Swallows are typically single-brooded, although they may attempt a second nest if the first fails early in the season. There are records of parents raising two successful broods in a season. They subsist primarily on a diet of insects, sometimes supplemented with small quantities of fruit. They are excellent fliers and take off from their perch and acrobatically catch insects in their bills in mid-air. ==See also== [[Image:Tree Swallow-27527-2.jpg|thumb|right|254px|<center>Male Tree Swallow.]] * [[Barn Swallow]] - many similar characteristics * [[Purple Martin]] - Barn & Tree Swallows are often misnamed "Purple Martins" ==References==<!-- AnnuRevEcolSyst37:637. WilsonBull18:47 (compare to current Ohio checklist http://www.ohiobirds.org/publications/OBRClist.pdf). --> * {{IUCN2006|assessors=BirdLife International|year=2004|id=52129|title=Tachycineta bicolor|downloaded=12 May 2006}} Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern ==External links== {{Commons|Tachycineta bicolor|Tree Swallow}} * [http://depts.washington.edu/natmap/facts/tree_swallow_712.html Tree Swallow Facts and Photos] - NatureMapping Program * [http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/Infocenter/i6140id.html Tree Swallow] - USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter * [http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Tree_Swallow.html Tree Swallow species account, Cornell Lab of Ornithology] * [http://www.sdakotabirds.com/species/tree_swallow_info.htm Tree Swallow information and photo, South Dakota Birds and Birding] * [http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Tachycineta_bicolor.html Tree Swallow] at ''Animal Diversity Web'' * [http://www.treeswallowprojects.com/index.html How to create and manage nest box projects for Tree Swallows] * [http://ibc.hbw.com/ibc/phtml/especie.phtml?idEspecie=5321 Tree Swallow videos] on the Internet Bird Collection * [http://vireo.acnatsci.org/search.html?Form=Search&SEARCHBY=Common&KEYWORDS=tree+swallow&showwhat=images&AGE=All&SEX=All&ACT=All&Search=Search&VIEW=All&ORIENTATION=All&RESULTS=24 Tree Swallow photo gallery] VIREO <!--see a good RangeMap/maps, lists, etc at: "www.natureserve.org"(then 'InfoNatura')(the Caribbean Islands are shown (small scale, so some verification on the island birds would be nice: I see Cuba, Haiti, and assumed the Bahamas and Turks, because of closeness to Florida)--> [[Category:Tachycineta]] [[Category:Birds of North America|Swallow, Tree]] [[Category:Birds of Central America|Swallow, Tree]] [[Category:Birds of the Greater Antilles|Swallow, Tree]] [[Category:Birds of the Caribbean|Swallow, Tree]] [[Category:Birds of Canada|Swallow, Tree]] [[Category:Native birds of Alaska|Swallow, Tree]] [[Category:Birds of the United States|Swallow, Tree]] [[Category:Birds of Baja Peninsula Mexico|Swallow, Tree]] [[Category:Birds of Mexico|Swallow, Tree]] [[Category:Birds of the Yucatán Peninsula region|Swallow, Tree]] [[Category:Birds of the United States Virgin Islands|Swallow, Tree]] [[Category:Birds of Cuba|Swallow, Tree]] [[Category:Birds of Haiti|Swallow, Tree]] [[Category:Birds of the Bahamas|Swallow, Tree]] [[Category:Birds of the Turks and Caicos Islands|Swallow, Tree]] [[Category:Birds of Colombia|Swallow, Tree]] [[Category:Birds of French Guiana|Swallow, Tree]]<!--VAGRANTs, mostly--> [[Category:Birds of Guyana|Swallow, Tree]]<!--VAGRANTs, mostly--> [[Category:Birds of Venezuela|Swallow, Tree]]<!--VAGRANTs, mostly--> [[Category:Birds of Saint Pierre and Miquelon|Swallow, Tree]] [[Category:North American migratory birds|Swallow, Tree]] [[de:Sumpfschwalbe]] [[fr:Hirondelle bicolore]] [[ja:ミドリツバメ]] [[pl:Nadobniczka drzewna]]