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Cliff Swallow

Blue bird

Cliff Swallows build their mud nests on cliff faces and other vertical surfaces in colonies containing hundreds of other birds. The pair works together, gathering pellets of wet mud in their beaks and laying them down one by one in rows. Swallows deposit mud pellets onto the nest with a shaking motion leaving behind well-formed nuggets that bond with the others and harden into a strong nest wall. A finished nest contains over 1,000 mud pellets. Cliff Swallows tuck their nests away in corners and make sure that the nest opening is small so the eggs and nestlings are well protected from predators like hawks, owls, snakes, and mammals.

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NPS/Michael Wheeler

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Image

Devils Tower National Monument, Code: DETO

Devils Tower National Monument, Crook County, Wyoming
Latitude: 44.5905990600586, Longitude: -104.716003417969

NPS.gov Collection

07/04/2013 | Cliff Swallow

07/04/2013

Public Can View

NPS

Michael Wheeler; NPS

Friday, September 6, 2019 8:18:32 AM

Friday, September 6, 2019 8:18:32 AM

Cliff swallows in nest 02.JPG

Canon Canon, Canon PowerShot SX40 HS 1600, 4.3-150.5 mm

1/320 sec at f / 5.8

150.5 mm

ISO 1600

Thursday, July 4, 2013 2:46:52 PM

jpg

2.9 MB

2016-07-20T15:33:10-06:00

Scenic