Swallows are migratory birds belonging to the order of passerines. They are known to everyone since childhood. Remember the fairy tale "Thumbelina"! The saved bird helped the heroine of the fairy tale to escape from the groom-mole. Since ancient times, this bird has been treated with care and love in Russia. Even the name of the bird - "swallow" - sounds affectionately, gently. She lives next to a man, trusts his kindness. In the spring, swallows come from the south, and people know that with their appearance, frosts disappear. Many folk omens are associated with this bird.
If it flies low - wait for the rain, because mosquitoes and midges fall closer to the ground. Swallows settled next to the window - birds, which means good people live here.
Sometimes it is called a human companion. There are over 120 species of these birds. On the territory of Russia, three species are most common: killer whale (or village), Daurian swallow and city swallow. They are better known to man.
The most virtuoso swallow in summer is the killer whale. She has a long forked tail, and she settles on beams under the roof of wooden houses or sheds. Builds nests in such a way that theyresemble bowls. The Dahurian swallow has a difference - its back is reddish. It got its name from its habitat: it settles in the Amur region. He chooses a house in the village that is larger, more impressive, because he builds a nest larger than the village swallow. The entrance to it is on the side and looks like a pipe, like a bottle.
City swallows are birds that bear the name of "funnel". Their growth is smaller, the abdomen is white, the legs are feathered, and the tail, unlike the killer whale and Daurian, is cut out weakly. For housing chooses stone houses. Under the eaves or under the roof canopy, above the balcony, makes a small nest.
It is spherical in shape, and the entrance hole is on the side. This species settles in large cities, they are not afraid of the noise of the metropolis!
Swallows of all kinds build their nests with earth soaked in saliva. Their saliva is sticky, the nest is strong. The swallow is a migratory bird, sometimes its urban variety changes the metropolis and settles on a rocky cliff, placing its nest between the folds of loose rock. Such places are called nesting sites. The city swallow is also attracted by sandy cliffs. She uses the abandoned burrows of her shore sisters. Surprisingly, swallows are birds that are not afraid of the noise of cars and nest even in garages! When laying eggs, the male in good weather brings food to his girlfriend, but when it rains, he manages to grab the midge only for himself. It is interesting to watch from the balcony how the parent swallows feed their chicks. "Yellowmouths" actively squeak, open their mouths wide, and dad or mom delivers a midge in their beak,mosquito. From the window of city apartments you can watch how they teach their chicks to fly. The swallow bird, a photo of which can be found in every biology textbook, differs in flight from other birds. She flies very fast, often turns, spins in a zigzag.
An interesting fact is that they never sit on trees. Resting on people-stretched ropes, telegraph wires,
cling their claws to the eaves of houses.
Autumn comes, at the end of September these birds fly away. But before departure, hundreds of swallows can be seen on the telegraph wires. They seem to say goodbye to people. And we feel somehow sad…
