Barn Swallows: Recognizing and Attracting These Graceful Birds

The barn swallow, or Hirundo rustica, is an amazing bird to watch. These little birds travel a long distance in their six to eight years of life. These birds are found all over the world, except for Australia. The interesting thing about barn swallows is that they nest in large colonies. If you live near an open field or on the countryside, chances are you can easily attract these amazing birds. We have barn swallows that nest on our front porch every year. Watching these birds is a true delight.

Barn swallows differ from the American swallow because the barn swallow has a tail that is deeply forked. A male barn swallow will have longer tails than the female, and both male and female have rust on the underside of their body, a tiny bill and dark, almost blue upperparts. An adult barn swallow will reach about six inches in length. Young barn swallows look very similar to the adult bird, but are often paler and have a short tail.

When barn swallows nest, they stay near their colony. If you have ever hosted barn swallows, you will know they are near. If you walk near the carefully constructed nest, the entire colony of birds, which are excellent at flying in sharp turns, will attempt to mob you. Often, these attractive and skilled birds will nest very near humans, often on the eves of porches or in barns, as their name suggests. This is because barn swallows prefer to eat bugs. They can eat a large amount of flies, beetles, bees, moths, mayflies, grasshoppers, and aphids. These birds are quite beneficial to humans. These birds often begin their hunt for insects late on warm summer afternoons. They fly close to the ground over fields and water. They carry the insects back to their young.

Barn swallows are also easy to identify because of their unique nest they build for their young. Both male and female will make several hundred trips to collect bits of mud pellets and plant fibers. Both the male and female barn swallow works to construct the nest. These nests are almost cylinder in shape and resemble a carefully woven basket of mud. After the nest is complete, the female bird lays between three and five eggs. The female bird has what is called a brood patch, which is a bare part of her underside to enable her to incubate her eggs. These feathers grow back. Barn swallow eggs will hatch in about 15 days and the young will leave the nest after about 18 to 24 days. In addition, the male and female barn swallow may choose to use the same nest to raise another brood within the same mating season.

Watching the barn swallows take care of their young is fascinating. The parent birds work tirelessly around the clock to hunt insects and carry them back to the waiting young. At night, the parent birds rest outside of the nest, often clutching to the eve of the porch so that the young has the entire nest.

Because these birds eat so many insects, they are very nice to have near your home. There are several ways you can attract these wonderful birds. One easy way is to keep the birds coming back. If you are lucky enough to have a nest near your home, leave it there. Do not be tempted to knock the nest down after the mating season is over. Often, barn swallows will return to the same spot the following year. If, for some reason, the nest is gone, they will often build in the exact location as the year before. There is a reason they have picked that spot, so let them return again and again.

Also, it is important to remember not to startle or scare the birds if you wish them to stay. Our barn swallows nest every summer on our front porch near the front door. We are lucky enough to have a glass door so that we can watch them throughout the day. However, after the babies are born, the parents become very agitated if you stand too near or too long near their nest. You can watch your birds; just do not plan to stay too long. We have had several visitors "dive-bombed" by our birds as they waited for us to answer the door!

Barn swallows are attracted to a particular area because of easy access to insects and water. If you use chemicals on your lawn or property, your chances for attracting these birds will decrease. Also, keep predators away from the area. If you have cats roaming nearby, the barn swallow might find a safer area.

You can make an area more appealing to these birds by allowing them inside an outbuilding, such as a barn, workspace, garage or shed. These birds need easy access to the outdoors, so make sure you leave an opening. You can also install shelving or nesting ledges to areas where you want these birds to nest. Just remember that these birds do leave droppings under their nest. You can leave plastic sheeting or newspapers under the nest to help with the clean up. Take that into consideration before attracting these birds.

Another suggestion for attracting these beneficial birds is to provide both fresh water and mud near the nest. Barn swallows carry mud pellets in their beaks to use for their nest. Sometimes flying a long distance to collect mud will discourage the birds. You can give them a shallow dish of fresh mud that they can use. Some barn swallows will also collect animal hair, lint and string to add into their nest. Our newest nest has what looks to be kite string hanging from the nest. You do not have to provide this for the birds, as it is not a necessity.

Barn swallows are an interesting bird to watch. They take meticulous care of their young and are very beneficial at controlling the insect population. If you are successful in attracting these wonderful birds to your home or barn, you will be taken by their beauty and grace.