Orchard Swallow
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Orchard
Swallow, Hirundo
pastoralis L 19-24 cm, WS 29-32 cm, Family: Hirundinidae
IUCN Conservation Status: Least concern (LC)
Description:
Small,
active songbird with large head, cone-shaped body, broad shoulders, long,
tapered wings, and long tail. Upperparts deep, iridescent blue, undersides
pinkish, faded, and darker on the breast. Forehead rufous, and throat white
with rufous outline. Blue breast band outlines the throat. Tail is strongly
bifurcated with white spotting. Sexes similar, but females tend to be duller.
Appears very similar to the Barn Swallow, can best be distinguished by its white
throat patch and slightly longer tail.
Voice:
Song
is a series of chattery warbles and metallic-sounding twittering followed by
mechanical clicking trills. Song can last up to 20 seconds. A variety of calls
include any single part of the song, as well as quick cheeps and buzzy churs.
Often quite vocal.
Range and Habitat:
Summer
range encompasses the entirety of Novasola, including Kosatka and Francis
Islands. Migrates to spend winter in Mexico and Central America. Habitat
requirements general, they prefer to forage in open areas such as meadows, pastures,
orchards, prairie, other agricultural lands, suburban yards, parks, and
wetlands, marshes, and riparian areas, especially over open water like lakes,
rivers, and bays. Nesting areas require cliffs or artificial substitutes like
buildings, and nearby mud and water sources. They now nest almost exclusively
on man-made structures.
Discussion:
As
their name implies, Orchard Swallows are a staple of orchards, pastures, and
ranches across Novasola, and perhaps the most common swallow in developed areas,
adding to the summer life of riverside walks and city ponds. Before western
colonization of Novasola, Orchard Swallows nested on cliffsides and in caves, but
now they nest entirely on human structures and buildings like barns, sheds,
houses, bridges, and docks. Their close connection to human structures,
agriculture, and development has led them to be a familiar and well-beloved
species across the island, and it is even considered good luck when a pair builds
a nest in a person's barn, porch, or stoop.
Insectivores,
Orchard Swallows eat mostly flying insects like flies, bees, mosquitoes, beetles,
butterflies and moths, and dragonflies, which they catch mid-flight. They forage
entirely in flight, by flying low to the ground or water surface, usually lower
than other swallow species. They also drink and bathe in flight by dipping
themselves into the water quickly. They are extremely acrobatic fliers, able to
make quick, sharp turns and dives, and have smooth, fluid wingbeats. They will
occasionally land and pluck insects off the ground, but more often when the
swallows are foraging on the ground they are actually looking for grit like
gravel, sand, or shells which they swallow to aid in digestion. Orchard Swallows
will purposely follow cattle, livestock, or wild animal herds, farmers or
hikers, and farm equipment to prey on the insects flushed from the commotion. Swallows
will often forage in large flocks and will often be seen in mixed flocks with
other swallows and bird species, especially in highly productive areas or
during large insect hatches.
Orchard
Swallows are long distance migrants which winter in Central America and breed
on Novasola. They typically arrive on Novasola in mid-to-late May and leave by early
or mid-July. Males typically arrive earlier and establish nest sites and
territories which they advertise to the females through song and display
flights. Both sexes help build and protect the nest, which is cup-shaped and made
mostly of mud. Social birds, Orchard Swallows will nest in colonies where the
area allows, and each pair will defend a small nest territory within the
colony. Socially monogamous, mated birds
will nest together for life, but they are sexually polygamous and extra-pair
copulation is common, though secretive, as males will defend their females from
other males and fight off rivals when possible and will even deceive their
mates by using alarm calls to distract them from other suitors.
Not
always considered a distinct species, the orchard swallow was until recently thought
to be a subspecies of the closely related Barn Swallow, Hirundo rustica,
which may also be found infrequently on Novasola. The major physical differences
between Orchard and Barn swallows are the Orchard’s white throat and slightly
longer tail streamers, and so they were often called the White-throated Barn
Swallow, Hirundo rustica pastoralis. Though some experts have always
argued to separate them into distinct species, it wasn’t until 2006 that they
were officially recognized as unique. This separation was mostly based on
morphological differences and geographic isolation, as well as the Orchard Swallow’s
migratory habits which differ from Barn Swallows in that Orchards will fly almost
1,500 kilometers over open ocean to reach Novasola, while Barn Swallow will rarely
make the crossing. Upgrading Orchard Swallows to the level of species is still
contentious, as many scientists do not believe these criteria are strong enough
to separate them. Furthermore, when present on Novasola, Barn Swallows often
hybridize with Orchards which further muddles their genetic distinctiveness,
and Orchard Swallows fill much the same ecological niche on Novasola as Barn
Swallows on the mainland.
Orchard Swallows are a common species across Novasola and quite numerous along most waterways and over most farmland. Nevertheless, at the time of the Novasola Research Corps’ expeditions, Richard Reichwald considered the bird a subspecies of the Barn Swallow and thus not uniquely endemic, and so, beyond comparing their similarities and differences to the mainland birds, wrote quite little about them.
“As
with the Apple Warbler, I have observed great numbers of this [Orchard] swallow
along the banks of all the territory’s major waters, and nowhere more-so than
the fertile lands of the Twin Rivers and of the Kusasha. Among swallows the barn
[Orchard] is the most widespread and civil, comfortable in any open country, field
and stream, as well as city gardens and canals. Like those of the mainland,
this white throated variety exhibits a strong affinity for the pastoral, often
satisfied to build nests among the barns of fruit orchards and vineyards of the
south and among the cattle ranches further north.”– Native Birds of Novasola,
1912
“In
most ways much like the mainland American subspecies. Where this group differs is
with obvious white plumage on the throat. Longer on average, they are ornamented
with more extended outer tail feathers, resulting in a stronger tail fork. There
are, however, no differences in habit.” – Manual of Novasolan Birds,
1914
“I have also observed in this area a great number of swallows. Flitting between Mr. Warton’s barn and the apple trees are dozens of common barn [Orchard] swallows, the first I have seen in the territory this year, no doubt returning from spending their winter afar.” – Expedition log, May 9, 1903