How Do Little Swallows Spend the Winter? An Introduction to How Swallows Overwinter

Swallows are beneficial birds. They are small in size, with long, pointed wings, and their tail feathers form a fork shape when spread flat; they catch insects while flying. Some species of swifts build their nests entirely out of saliva on the tops or walls of cliff caves, and these nests have very high economic value, namely “bird's nest”. So, how do little swallows spend the winter?

1. How Little Swallows Spend the Winter

Little swallows fly south to spend the winter. When the autumn wind blows bleakly and the leaves drift down, swallows fly south in flocks, because in winter the south is relatively warm and still has many insects, so food is relatively plentiful. Winter in the north is too cold, and the insects all hide away. When the next year brings warm spring days and blooming flowers, and the willow branches sprout, they fly back again to the places where they used to live.

2. Living Habits

Swallows generally breed from April to July. Barn swallows build their nests under the eaves of farmhouses. The nest is dish-shaped. They breed 2 clutches each year, mostly from May to early June and from mid-June to early July. Each clutch contains 4 to 6 eggs. The second clutch has fewer, 2 to 5 eggs. The eggs are milky white. The male and female incubate the eggs together. The young birds hatch in 14 to 15 days, and the parent birds feed them together. The nestlings fledge in about 20 days, and after being fed for another 5 to 6 days, they can feed themselves. Their food is entirely insects.

Swallows are typical migratory birds. After the breeding season ends, the young birds still follow the adult birds; they gradually gather into large flocks and migrate south to overwinter before the first cold wave arrives, making them the “nomads” of the bird family. Swallows are beneficial birds to humans, mainly feeding on insects such as mosquitoes and flies, and in a few months they can eat 250,000 insects.