What is the purpose of a swallow's tail? A detailed explanation of its diet and nesting habits
The swallow is a common small bird, and the Chinese idiom "as light as a swallow" also comes from this bird. Swallows have slender bodies and feathers with a metallic sheen, making them very beautiful. The swallow's body is extremely agile, and it is a typical beneficial bird. In rural areas, you will often see swallows building their nests on rooftops, in corridors, and on the walls under the eaves. We often say that a swallow's tail looks like scissors, so what is the purpose of a swallow's tail? What do they generally eat? How do they build their nests?
1. What is the purpose of a swallow's tail?
A swallow's tail mainly serves to maintain body balance, control flight direction, manage ascent and descent, and regulate airflow.
The swallow's tail is shaped like scissors, which can better assist its flight and increase its flying speed. Especially when turning in the air, it can effectively reduce air resistance and make the body extremely agile, because the scissor shape is streamlined.
A nest of young swallows needs to eat a great deal of food, so only when flight speed increases and flight becomes more stable can the mother and father swallows catch more food. This is also a phenomenon formed over a long process of evolution.
2. What do swallows generally eat?
The main food of swallows is insects. Only a few swallow species consume plant-based food, and only in very small amounts. For example, the tree swallow often eats plant-based food such as berries, but of course this is only a second choice when insects are scarce.
Swallows do not fly around aimlessly foraging, nor do they, as we might imagine, open their mouths wide waiting for plankton in the air. They take the initiative and actively hunt. Swallows adapt and adjust according to the food available in the places where they spend the winter.
If you are raising swallows, you can catch grasshoppers in the fields, buy red water fleas, or purchase small insects specially bred for birds at a flower-and-bird market.
3. How do swallows build their nests?
When building a nest, swallows usually choose eaves that are not exposed to wind, sun, or rain, and the wall cannot be too smooth. Ordinary cement walls and mud-brick walls are their favorites. If there are objects on the wall that make nesting convenient, such as a lamp base or window railing, these are very attractive to them.
After choosing a nesting site, they begin carrying mud in their beaks. They mainly bring it back little by little from nearby paddy fields, riverbanks, and similar places, mix it with the swallow's saliva, and build their little home bit by bit. Some straw, feathers, and so on are also mixed in to make the whole structure look more solid. It seems like a very simple task, but it is also like building a house for us: you have to proceed step by step, otherwise it can easily collapse. Even though their bodies are small, they truly have great energy for the sake of having a stable home of their own.