This has been the comparison l've favored for years. And they're out and about
hours before sunrise this time of year. Bat like, fluttery, with a twittering
call. Tree swallows are gliders , with burbly voice that approaches the Purple
Martin sometimes.Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone
-------- Original message --------From: Rusty Scalf <rscalf@xxxxxxxxx> Date:
5/27/20 4:43 PM (GMT-08:00) To: OBOL@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [obol] Re:
swallow id in flight
To me Violet-green flight seems more bat-like. Very rapid wing beats and
sudden changes of direction.
Other swallows like Tree seem (may I use 8 year old English?) swoopier. With
Barn being maximally swoopy.
---
Rusty Scalf
On 2020-05-27 15:57, Linda Fink wrote:
just catching up on OBOL. Interesting how differently we all distinguish
swallows. We have nesting tree/violet-green/barn swallows here on our farm and
cliff swallows that try to nest every year but fail. I tell tree and vg
swallows apart in flight by waiting for them to bank and seeing if they have
white up over their flanks (or whatever that area at the base of the tail is
called). I can't say I can really tell their voices apart, but, near as I can
tell, tree swallows never shut up. Cliff swallows creek and rattle but I only
see them when they are close and obvious. As for behavior, we throw white
feathers in the air in the spring for the swallows to catch and take to their
nests. Some of you have been here for the annual feather throw and know that
tree swallows are superb at the game, but often lose out to the violent green
swallows, who don't just attack the feathers. Scrappy little birds. Sadly the
school groups that usually come here in the spring for a farm tour and the
swallow feather game could not come this year because of Covid. It's not near
as much fun without the children.Linda near Grand Ronde Agency, Yamhill County
