Cave Swallow
Cave Swallow
Petrochelidon fulva
At a Glance
As recently as the 1960s, this was a rare bird in the United States. It nested only in a few southwestern caves, plastering its cuplike mud nest against the walls in the dimly lit interior. Since then it has 'learned' to nest in artificial sites, in culverts and under bridges, and it has become a common summer bird across much of Texas and southern New Mexico (with an outlying colony in Florida). In some places, Cave Swallows may actively compete with Cliff Swallows for these artificial nest sites.
All bird guide text and rangemaps adapted from Lives of North American Birds by Kenn Kaufman© 1996, used by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Category
Swallow-like Birds, Swallows
IUCN Status
Least Concern
Habitat
Coasts and Shorelines, Fields, Meadows, and Grasslands, Shrublands, Savannas, and Thickets, Urban and Suburban Habitats
Region
Florida, Mid Atlantic, New England, Plains, Southwest, Texas
Behavior
Direct Flight, Flap/Glide, Swooping
Population
9.600.000
Range & Identification
Migration & Range Maps
Small Florida population supposedly winters in West Indies. Winter range of southwestern birds poorly known. In recent years, has begun wintering regularly in Texas. A remarkable dispersal now brings numbers of Cave Swallows to the middle Atlantic Coast and parts of the Great Lakes, far north of their breeding range, almost every year in late fall.
Description
5 1/2" (14 cm). Like Cliff Swallow (buffy rump, square tail) but has pale buff throat, black cap, dark forehead.
Size
About the size of a Sparrow
Color
Black, Blue, Orange, Red, Tan, White
Wing Shape
Broad, Rounded, Tapered
Tail Shape
Rounded, Short, Square-tipped
Songs and Calls
Series of squeaks, twitters, and warbles.
Call Pattern
Flat, Undulating
Call Type
Hi, Trill, Whistle
Habitat
Semi-open country. Forages over any kind of open or semi-open terrain, especially near water. Breeding was formerly limited by scarcity of nest sites in natural caves or sinkholes. Now nests under bridges and in culverts, buildings, silos, many other artificial sites, allowing species to spread into new habitats.
Sign up for Audubon's newsletter to learn more about birds like the Cave Swallow
Behavior
Eggs
3-4, sometimes 2-5. White, finely spotted with brown and purple. Incubation is probably by both parents, thought to be about 15 days.
Young
Both parents bring food for nestlings. Young leave nest at about 20-26 days.
Feeding Behavior
Forages almost entirely in flight. May forage low over water or may forage much higher, mainly in clear warm weather. Often forages in flocks.
Diet
Insects. Diet not known in detail, but feeds on a wide variety of flying insects, including beetles, flies, true bugs, wasps, bees, winged ants, grasshoppers, lacewings, moths, and others.
Nesting
Typically nests in colonies, sometimes with hundreds of pairs. Nest: Natural site is on steep wall of cave or sinkhole, in area away from entrance but with at least some light. Artificial sites are on vertical surfaces in culverts, under bridges, or in buildings; in Yucatan Peninsula, may nest in ancient Mayan temples. In well-sheltered sites, nests may last for years and be used repeatedly. Nest (built by both sexes) is an open cup of mud plastered against wall. Birds in natural sites gather mud on cave bottom, where it often contains much bat guano. Nest is lined with grass, bark fibers, plant down, and feathers.
Climate Vulnerability
Conservation Status
Range has expanded and population has greatly increased in recent decades.
Climate Threats Facing the Cave Swallow
Choose a temperature scenario below to see which threats will affect this species as warming increases. The same climate change-driven threats that put birds at risk will affect other wildlife and people, too.