# Tree Swallow

*Tachycineta bicolor*

Tree Swallows are known for 'feather play,' where they drop a feather in mid-air and dive to catch it before it hits the water.

- **Taxonomy:** Animalia › Chordata › Aves › Passeriformes › Hirundinidae › Tachycineta
- **IUCN Red List status:** Least Concern
- **Population trend:** decreasing
- **Biome:** wetland
- **Habitat:** Lakeshores, marshes, and open hayfields near bodies of water.
- **Diet:** Primarily flying insects such as dragonflies, damselflies, and beetles; occasionally berries during inclement weather.
- **Range:** North America, Central America, Caribbean
- **Size:** 12-15 cm length, 16-25 g weight
- **Lifespan:** 3-6 years
- **Active:** diurnal
- **Threats:** Pesticide use reducing insect populations, loss of standing dead trees for nesting, and competition with invasive species.
- **Safe to approach?:** Harmless. Enjoy their aerial displays from a distance of at least 5 meters. If you encounter a nest box, do not linger, as human presence can stress the parents. If a bird appears injured or grounded, contact a local licensed wildlife rehabilitator.

## About

The tree swallow ( Tachycineta bicolor ) is a migratory passerine bird that breeds in North America and winters in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. It is a very rare vagrant to western Europe.

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/f04814db-5184-4b61-89ca-7cfcf879c673
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/11935
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tachycineta bicolor
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/196885341/medium.jpeg (Carter Dorscht, CC0, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.