Habitat
Inhabits open to semi-wooded habitat, usually well below treeline in cliffs, canyons, farms, near meadows, marshes, and water (NatureServe 2007b). Found in a wide variety of habitats owing to the increase in availability of alternative nest sites. Inhabits grasslands, towns, broken forests, riparian edges. Nest sites are typically located near an open area for foraging, near water, and relatively near a mud source for nest building. Builds bottle shaped mud nest in colonies on cliffs, eaves of buildings, under bridges, etc. Prefers sites with overhang (Brown and Brown 1995, Coffey 1980).
References
Brown, C.R. and M.B. Brown. 1995. Cliff Swallow (Hirundo pyrrhonota). In The Birds of North America, No. 149 (A. Poole and F. Gill, Eds.). Philadelphia: The Academy of Natural Sciences; Washington, D.C.: The American Ornithologists’ Union.
Coffey, B. B., Jr. 1980. Cliff Swallows nesting a mile from water. Migrant 51:11.
NatureServe. 2007b. NatureServe Explorer: An online encyclopedia of life [web application]. Version 6.2. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia. Available http://www.natureserve.org/explorer.
