Tree Swallow

Description:

This swallow averages 13.5 cm (5 inches) long and weighs about 20 g. The bill is tiny. The adult Tree Swallow has iridescent blue-green upperparts, white underparts, and a very slightly forked tail. The female usually has duller colours than the male, often more greenish than the more bluish male. The juvenile plumage is dull grey-brown above and may have hint of a gray breast band.

Habitat:

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.

Notes:

Being highly social outside of the breeding season, tree swallows may form flocks of several thousand birds near roost sites. Flocks near Vacherie, Louisiana were estimated to contain well over 1 million birds during December 2009. :O