The Swallow :

The swallow is a migratory bird that builds his nest near barns and cowsheds. They belong to the group of passerine birds in the family Hirundinidae. They often symbolize springtime, because they come back from wintering in Africa to nest and reproduce in Europe on the first days of spring. This trip is a long journey of 10.000 km, and their only fuel is a few grams of fat.

When the chicks are independent, swallows start to prepare the next migration by accumulating fat reserves needed for the trip. But before acquiring full independence, each chick waits to be fed on insects by the parents. To find the food, the parents fly over 300 km per day, on a three week period. As well as the pigeon and many other migatory birds, the swallow often returns to the same breeding area each year, after flying back from Africa. This can maybe explain why this species hardly resettles on the cities where it disappeared, even if potential predators or pollution have decreased. Since the 1970’s, the population was noted to be gradually falling: a 84% fall over 10 years was noticed on the window swallow (source: CRBPO. However, this information must be taken carefully, because of the natural variations of existing populations. Yet, this is taken seriously by ornithologists).

This regression can be explained by the depletion of flying insects, the only source of food for the swallow (this is probably due to the use of pesticides. However, it’s interesting to see how similar cities have kept an important number of birds, while other ones have completely lost their population of swallows). The presence of woodlands and water in cities is a propitious factor.