Nature Page

Welcome Swallow – Hirundo Neoxena

By Marj Webber

One of the most common are found almost anywhere birds on Bribie Island is there is water except for very the Welcome Swallow. arid areas, thick rainforests and They are to be seen on and high, cold mountain areas. In around bridges and almost the 1950’s they self-introduced always near waterways. into New Zealand and are also Welcome Swallows are small found on some Pacific islands long-winged passerines that are such as PNG and New Caledonia. mostly observed when in flight Overhead wires are favourite chasing insects or resting near resting places, and they are water. They are 14-15 cm long also often seen perched on and weigh only 13-17 g. They bridge railings, other manhave long bodies with rust-red made structures and dead trees throats, grey underparts, black near water. They are mostly backs and white spots on their sedentary but will move to other tails. I sometimes have difficulty locations if the weather becomes telling the difference between too cold or their food source Welcome Swallows and Tree becomes scarce. and Fairy Martins when they Food is obtained almost entirely are in flight. The flight is swift on the wing. Insects are their and aerobatic and it is not until main source of food and are I catch a glimpse of their black guided into their mouths by sets rumps and their deeply forked of bristles which line the bills. swallow tails that I can tell the Their acrobatic manoeuvres difference. Martins have white while foraging in flight are rumps and square tails. Male entertaining to watch. Much of and female birds are similar their day is spent in the pursuit with the female having slightly of food in this way as they need shorter tail feathers. Some to consume their own body swallows have been known to weight every day eating up to live up to 6 years. 400 times a day or every few Of the four species of swallows minutes. They need to drink in Australia Welcome Swallows a lot of water and frequently. are the most widespread. They This is also done while flying. 40 40 www.thebribieislander.com.au www.thebribieislander.com.au The Bribie Islander They swoop down to the water, take a mouthful in a flash then fly off again. This is repeated throughout the day. Much time is spent flying with most things done on the wing. They need to take a rest about every half hour. From August to February is their preferred time for nesting. This takes place mainly on manmade structures. Nests can be built singularly or in colonies. A lot of hard work is involved in building the semi-circular mud nests. Both monogamous parents scoop up small amounts of mud into their mouths to carry to the sites and slowly the nest takes shape by the addition of thousands of tiny pellets of mud. Nests are lined with soft materials and feathers. If there are no available structures in the area they will build on cliff faces or anywhere else they can find a suitable almost vertical spot. Nests usually take 8-23 days to build and are quite often reused. Clutches are usually 4-7 eggs which are cream with brownish splotches. These are laid in 24-48 hour intervals. Females alone incubate the eggs for 1416 days and both parents and sometimes other swallows tend to the nursery duties and the protection of nests. Babies leave the nests after a further 2-3 weeks and after 35 days become completely self-sufficient. They can begin breeding in 8-14 months. There are often two clutches in a season. Welcome Swallows were first described by John Gould in his book “Birds of Australia” which was published in 7 volumes between 1840 and 1848. There are two theories on how the word “welcome” was used as part of the name. One is from Victoria when people welcomed the swallows back in spring after wintering in the warmer North and the other is a sea story where early mariners welcomed the sight of swallows as a sign of approaching land. Raptors, reptiles and feral cats are their main predators targeting nests with eggs or young birds. Conservation status is of least concern. They have adapted well to human habitation and have learned to use our structures to their advantage hence their population is increasing.