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BIRD ID
Intermediate and Advanced ID: Swallows 201
 | | Cliff Swallow |
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Swallows are most often seen as they soar by. The differences between some species are subtle and you rarely have the birds perch to give you a good look. One of the best ways to identify them is to follow them with your binoculars as they fly by and try to get a close look at their underbody. Look especially at their throat and upper breast. Also try to see their top and determine if they are brown or blackish. Those that are iridescent, generally look blackish in the air.
Here are some quick clues to identifying swallows on the wing by looking at their undersides and uppersides.
Blackish above with buffy rump
 | Dark reddish throat = Cliff Swallow |
| | Pale buffy throat = Cave Swallow |
All blackish above
| | Forked tail and reddish-brown throat = Barn Swallow |
| | Square tail, all white below, no white over eye or sides of rump = Tree Swallow |
| | Square tail, all white below, white over eye or over sides of rump = Violet-green Swallow |
Brownish above
| | Pure white below from throat to tail = Tree Swallow (1st year female) |
| | Pure white below with a brown band across chest = Bank Swallow |
| | Brownish on the throat shading to white on the belly = Rough-winged Swallow |
New discoveries
| | Violet-green Swallow males and females look different. It is the adult males that have the white extending over the eye and violet-green on their head and back. The adult females have a dusky area around their eyes and their head is brownish while their back is green. |
Little-known facts
| | Tree Swallow females in their first year of breeding are brown above—unlike first-year males, which are already iridescent blue. |
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