Tree Swallows and Feathers

BirdNote^® 
Tree Swallows and Feathers – An Aerial Ballet 
Written by Bob Sundstrom

This is BirdNote.

         [Tree Swallows’ gurgling calls]

Tree Swallows glisten in the June sunlight, as they swoop and glide, their arcs interlacing in the air. Agile, elegant masters of flight, the swallows gather near their nestboxes, clustered on posts at the edge of a marsh.

         [Tree Swallows’ gurgling calls]

A white feather flutters down among them. One swallow snatches the feather in its bill and flies upward, as another swallow gives chase. After a moment, the lead bird lets loose the feather, which drifts lazily, until the second bird swoops in to catch it in midair. The aerial ballet of swallows and feather swirls on for minutes, as other swallows join in the feather chase.

Are the swallows just playing or are they competing for these feathers? Loose feathers are an important resource for Tree Swallows. They line their nests thickly with them, a featherbed for nestlings. Continuing research suggests that, as Tree Swallows build their nests, it is the females who collect the feathers. Their aerial dance may well be a competition for nest-lining material.

And the males in the feather chase? Maybe they’re just playing along.

         [Tree Swallows’ gurgling calls]

For Birdnote, I’m Mary McCann.

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Senior Producer: Mark Bramhill
Producer: Sam Johnson
Managing Producer: Jazzi Johnson
Managing Producer: Ariana Remmel
Content Director: Jonese Franklin

Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Tree Swallows recorded by G.F. Budney. BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2015 BirdNote    June 2018/2020/2023/2026     Narrator: Mary McCann

ID# TRES-02b-2020-6-1         TRES-02b