Welcome Swallow at nest on the side of an airport building.

A few of these were nesting with their distinctive mud construction nests while we were waiting at the airport in Cairns. The photo of the bird isn't great, but it is a rather nice view of the mud nests. There seem to be 2-3 distinct layers, which arises, I suspect, from different rainfall conditions during its construction.

comments (6)

Christine Young

Lion

Fantastic nest. It's so cool to see the different layers. Posted 6 years ago
1. Barry
  
  Lion
  
  Thanks, I found that rather intriguing as well, and have only rarely seen it. Posted 6 years ago
2. 1. Christine Young
    
    Lion
    
    Do you think it could be 2 nests stacked on top of each other? Maybe the same bird built a new nest on top of its old one...Or, a different bird...
    
    It would be fun to watch them building a nest like this - I can imagine how muddy those little dirt bricks must be. Posted 6 years ago
  2. 1. Barry
      
      Lion
      
      Hmmm, very interesting idea - I don't know if mud nest swallows reuse their nests from year to year - but that could be the explanation: that they built a new nest on top of the old one and thus the different layers. I have seen swallows building nests and it looks really painstaking. They fly low over muddy water, scoop up a billful, let the excess water out and then fly back to the nest and position each brick. Pretty amazing, but then nest building in birds is always incredible - just look at the Weavers and Tailorbirds. Posted 6 years ago
    2. 1. Barry
        
        Lion
        
        Actually I just checked and they do - so probably you are right. As Wikipedia states: Barn swallows build their nests with mud pellets and like to reuse nests year after year. Nest building takes up a lot of energy and swallows can make more than 1,000 trips in the process. New pairs will take over unused nest. Posted 6 years ago
      2. Christine Young
        
        Lion
        
        That is really amazing! Thanks for the added info! Posted 6 years ago, modified 6 years ago

The Welcome Swallow

The Welcome Swallow is a small passerine bird in the swallow family. It is a species native to Australia and nearby islands, and self-introduced into New Zealand in the middle of the twentieth century. It is very similar to the Pacific Swallow with which it is often considered conspecific.

Info 9 0

Similar species: Perching Birds

Species identified by Barry