Northern Rough-Winged Swallow (Stelgidopteryx serripennis)

County List:

Rule:

Mixed Forested/Nonforested or Nonforested Landscapes

      (Small Grains/Forage Crops or Fields/Pastures or Residential)
   containing:
      (Banks or Man-made Structures - buildings)
   neighboring:
      (Lake or Pond or River)

Habitat List:

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Literature:

Habitat: The Northern Rough-winged Swallow is most often found in open habitats, particularly those associated with open water and banks exposed by running water or human activities. In the Atlas Habitat Survey 59% of statewide observations came from open water, old field, and pasture areas. An additional 26% came from residential habitats, with half of all the southern Lower Peninsula observations in such situations.

The Northern Rough-winged Swallow commonly uses artificial sites for nesting. These include bridges and drainage pipes or culverts associated with them. On occasion, the species will use crevices between materials placed in the attics of open garages or similar structures, a behavior that brings them into rural or residential suburban areas.

Once limited to purely natural situations involving the erosion of banks, naturally occurring crevices, or the abandoned burrows of Bank Swallows and Belted Kingfishers, this swallow has adopted various human-made structures for nesting purposes.

Habitat: Breeding: Nearly any open area with adequate nest sites and a water supply (usually a stream). Often river valleys and lake shores.

Habitat: Near streams, lakes, river banks, also arroyos in dry country. Wide-spread in any kind of open country, but most commonly near water, nesting in vertical dirt banks (as along streambanks, river bluffs, gravel pits). May also nest along dry washes in arid country, but usually feeds over water, fields, or dense brush.

Diet: Insects. Feeds on a wide variety of flying insects, including many flies, wasps, winged ants, bees, true bugs, and beetles. Also eats some moths, caterpillars, mayflies, damselflies, spiders. Forages mostly in the air, patrolling over rivers, ponds, fields in swift flight.

Nest: Solitary in nesting; unlike Bank Swallows, does not form colonies, although several pairs may nest in favorable site. Site is usually in burrow in vertical dirt bank; may be bank along running stream, or road cut or similar bank miles from water. Birds may dig tunnel themselves, 1-6 feet long, or may use old burrow of Bank Swallow, kingfisher, or ground squirrel. Sometimes in other kinds of cavities, such as drainpipe, culvert, crevice in bridge support, hole in side of building. Bulk nest at end of burrow made of twigs, weeds, bark fibers, lined with finer grasses, occasionally with fresh horse manure added.