A nest of barn swallows under the eaves in Sai Kung town Photo: Gordon Robinson
Barn swallows have flown into Sai Kung on their seasonal visit to breed. If you look around town under the eaves you will see the lovely creatures and their nests.
These are the most widespread species of swallow in the world. They range over 251 million sq km. Very pretty, they have a blue upper body, off-white under parts and a long forked tail. As you will see around town, they like to build nests on man-made structures. It takes a pair of swallows two weeks to build a nest of mud, hair and other materials. Then they guard their home with pride. Swallows like to live close to humans and feed off insects often disturbed by us in flight.
Both sexes sing “witt” or “witt-witt” and “splee-plink” when excited. Not fast flyers, they do 40 kph to 70 kph. The wing beat rate is up to nine times a second. Barn swallows drink in flight by skimming low over water skimming with open mouth. They bathe by dipping into water then flying off. Couples stay together for life breeding, but are not averse to copulating with outsiders.
Be the first to comment