- Petrochelidon pyrrhonota
Description
5-6" (13-15 cm). Sparrow-sized. A stocky, square-tailed swallow with pale buff rump. Upperparts dull steel-blue; underparts buff-white; throat dark chestnut; forehead white. Southwestern birds have chestnut foreheads. Cave Swallow of Texas and Southwest is similar but smaller, with darker rump and pale buff throat.
Identification
Voice Constant squeaky chattering and twittering.
Habitat Open country near buildings or cliffs; lakeshores and marshes on migration.
Nesting 4-6 white eggs in a gourd-shaped structure of mud lined with feathers and placed on a sheltered cliff face or under eaves. Nests in colonies.
Range Breeds from Alaska, Ontario, and Nova Scotia southward through most of United States except Southeast. Winters in tropics.
