Cliff Swallow vs. Barn Swallow: Diet Cliff swallows mainly eat flying insects, and they are opportunistic predators, meaning they do not care what order or family these insects belong to. They may ...

Cliff swallows are not common birds and to have them nesting on our vinyl-sided house is very unusual as they traditionally prefer nesting under bridges or eaves of old barns.

In wild areas, including North Dakota's Badlands, they sometimes nest on cliff sides, as their ancestors did before America had barns and bridges. Still, barn swallows are the more familiar species.

Cliff swallows are relatively square-tailed, however, in contrast to the fork-tailed barn swallows. A white spot on the front of the head, above the bill, is a reliable field mark here.

Barn swallows fly on long, narrow, pointed wings with somewhat shallow and slow wing beats. Cliff swallows fly on relatively short, broad wings with rapid, fluttering-type wing beats.

Cliff swallows, in the mud nest on the left, and a barn swallow on its nest on the right, raise their young under a pavillion at the Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, on the Texas Coast.

Cliff Swallows have made their home in nests of mud along the store fronts at Eldersburg Crossing Shopping Center. Barn Swallows in their nests of mud under the awning of Michael's at Eldersburg ...

Of the eight species of swallows in North America, barn and cliff swallows are typically considered to be the most problematic since they build mud nests attached to houses, barns and other ...

Barn swallow plumage is a stunning combination of bright cobalt blue on the back and a tawny underside. Cliff swallows have dark red faces with dark blue backs and rust-colored rumps.

They typically nest under bridges and under eaves of old buildings. They make a mud nest similar to that of barn swallows. The mud is gathered and mixed with their saliva – making the nest strong.

Six species of swallows breed in New Hampshire. Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) is dark above and pale below, with a pale buffy rump, according to an online fact sheet from NH Audubon.

Cliff swallows are not common birds and to have them nesting on our vinyl-sided house is very unusual as they traditionally prefer nesting under bridges or eaves of old barns.