They can make sharp turns at high speeds in order to catch insects in great numbers. The barn swallow nests in colonies and hunt together. Swifts, swallows catch flies (and other things) at ballpark. Rob Lee. We don’t have them here. It's only as recently as the end of the nineteenth century that ornithologists agreed that swallows, including this Cliff Swallow, migrate. Amazing how birds can catch insects on the wing like that. Aquatic i nsects of the Order Diptera, the true flies, are the most common prey They catch prey in flight, using their acrobatic flying skills. The swallows that make mud nests in spring and catch flying insects all summer are now far south in Mexico, and Central and South America. This means they catch insects while flying, but they will sometimes take insects off the ground. Their peak presence in our state from April through September coincides with the time when insects are abundant and available for them to eat and to feed to their young. You got some fantastic shots with the insects visible. Barn Swallows are very common around barnyard areas and often follow farm equipment, eating the insects that are flushed into the air. What do Tree Swallows eat? Swallows are amazingly agile fliers and catch flying insects on the wing. A ll swallows are aerial insectivores: highly-maneuverable, active-pursuit predators that feed mainly on insects they hunt, chase, catch and eat in flight, as the Tree Swallow in Robert Whitney's photo below is about to do. Swallows because they are aerial insectivores. A swallow’s long, pointed wings and streamlined body contribute to its fast, acrobatic flight. Highly adapted to aerial feeding, they have a distinctive appearance. Welcome Swallows feed on a wide variety on insects. Tree swallows catch flying insects in aerobatic maneuvers over fields, streams and wetlands where rich populations of flying insects spawn. The prey is guided into the bird's wide, open mouth with the help of short rictal bristles bordering the bill. 4. Where insects are in large supply, Welcome Swallows feed in large flocks. 99.8 per cent of their diet during the breeding season is flying insects. When a swarm of insects is detected, swallows will repeatedly swoop through the swarm to catch multiple insects. The Venus flytrap has turned the tables on insects, which it snares in its traps and digests. Nice to see the ground squirrels too. If the nest is approached by a predator or human, the entire colony will mob the intruder using aerial acrobatics. I’m guessing that swallows are probably the best at it. Eat and run. Diet Not only is the Barn Swallow a great performer They build nests of grass and straw lined with feathers three to thirty feet high in natural or abandoned tree cavities and cliffs and very often in nest boxes in woodland edges, groves, farms and towns. 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