Species

Bank swallow

Riparia riparia

The smallest North American swallow, nesting in colonies of burrows dug into sandy banks.

Photo Owen Strickland (opens in a new tab) / iNaturalist, CC BY 4.0 (opens in a new tab)

At a glance

Size: About 12 to 14 cm long
Weight: About 10 to 19 g
Habitat: Rivers, lakes, gravel pits and open country
Diet: Flying insects
In Georgia: A common migrant; rare as a nesting bird
Voice: A dry, buzzy twitter
Rabies vector: No

Identification

Key marks: Brown above, white below; distinct brown band across the breast
Told apart from: Northern rough-winged swallow, which has a dusky throat and no breast band
Where to look: Over water with other swallows, April to May and July to September

Behaviour

Bank swallows dig nest burrows in vertical sandy banks, often in colonies of hundreds.

Why they matter

Bank swallows are found on every continent except Antarctica and Australia. They depend on eroding river banks and sand pits, which change from year to year, and colonies move as banks collapse and form.

Reproduction and lifecycle

Nest — A burrow dug into a sandy bank, in colonies
Eggs — Usually four or five
Incubation — About 14 to 16 days
Chicks — Fed by both parents
Flight — At about 18 to 22 days
Lifespan — Several years

Living around people

Sand and gravel pits can host colonies; leaving banks undisturbed during nesting protects them.

Misconceptions

Holes in a sandbank are made by rodents. Many are bank swallow burrows.

Related species

Seasonal activity

When this species is breeding, and when there are nests on the ground. Mowing during the shaded months is how most nests are found.

Breeding and active nests by month for this species
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Breeding	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Active nests	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Notes	In South America	In South America	In South America	Migrants arriving	Migrants passing	Nesting farther north	Migrants returning	Migrants	Migrants	Last migrants	In South America	In South America

Where it lives

Recorded in 90 states and provinces. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.

United States

Canada

If you found one

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