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Cliff Swallow
Xochitl Zambrano, CC BY 4.0, via iNaturalist

Songbirds & other perching birds

Cliff Swallow

Petrochelidon pyrrhonota (Vieillot, 1817)

LC Least Concern

Names

EnglishCliff Swallow
DutchAmerikaanse Klifzwaluw
SpanishGolondrina risquera
Chinese美洲燕
Scientific namePetrochelidon pyrrhonota (Vieillot, 1817)

About this species

The cliff swallow or American cliff swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) is a member of the passerine bird family Hirundinidae, the swallows and martins. The generic name Petrochelidon is derived from the Ancient Greek petros meaning "stone" and khelidon (χελιδών) "swallow", and the specific name pyrrhonota comes from purrhos meaning "flame-coloured" and -notos "-backed".

Cliff swallows are extremely social songbirds that can be found in large nesting colonies reaching over 2,000 nests. They are frequently seen flying overhead in large flocks during migration, gracefully foraging over fields for flying insects or perching tightly together on a wire preening under the sun.

Cliff swallows build gourd-shaped nests made from mud with small entrance holes. They build their nests tightly together, on top of one another, under bridges or alongside mountain cliffs. Living in large populations, these aerial insectivores use extensive vocalizations to communicate warnings or food availability to the other individuals.

Read more on Wikipedia · Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Classification

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumChordata
ClassAves
OrderPasseriformes
FamilyHirundinidae
GenusPetrochelidon

In Suriname

1Records in Suriname
2022First record

Where it has been recorded

  • Commewijne1

Districts with at least one record that has coordinates. Shaded districts have records.

Sources & credits

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