Stats

Lifespan: 2-3 yrs
Size: Small
Diet: Insectivore
Activity: Diurnal
Social: Flock
Biome: Freshwater wetland
Range: North America
Movement: Flight
Breeding: Egg-laying
Defense: Speed
Status: Common

About

A North American swallow with iridescent blue-green upperparts and clean white underparts, agile in flight as it catches insects on the wing over open water and fields. Unlike most swallows, it nests in cavities and readily takes to human-provided nest boxes, often forming loose colonies.

Life cycle

1.
egg
A small clutch of speckled eggs is incubated in a cup nest, turned and kept warm by the parent.
2.
hatchling
A pink, blind hatchling is fed by its parents in the nest, gaping its bill at every visit.
3.
juvenile
A feathered juvenile fledges from the nest, learning to fly and to forage close to its parents.
4.
adult
Fully grown with adult plumage and song.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Hirundinidae
Genus: Tachycineta
Species: Tachycineta bicolor