AUGUST I SEPTEMBER 2020 birdsandblooms.com 31
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Cave swallow
Cliff swallows
swallow nests are placed on man-made
structures: inside barns or sheds and
under the eaves of houses, bridges or
docks. Such safe sites are much more
abundant than naturally protected
sites ever were, so barn swallows are
undoubtedly more common today than
they were several hundred years ago.
The cliff swallow, true to its name,
used to nest mainly on the sheltered
sections of cliffs, with many jug-shaped
mud nests plastered close together.
Although some colonies still persist
in natural sites, most cliff swallows
now nest on the outsides of buildings
or underneath bridges. They are found
from Alaska to Mexico and from coast
to coast, but they’re generally more
common in the West. A related bird, the
cave swallow, has a more limited range,
primarily nesting under bridges and in
culverts across most of Texas.