洋燕(Pacific Swallow)

它们在公司的后门筑巢已经有好几年了, 前几天偶尔从后门走时,它们飞得离我们很近,佯装攻击,才发觉巢又筑好了.
门口附近的一盏路灯是它们常休息的地方,打开二楼的窗口离它们也不过5,6米远,于是,昨天下午我支好相机,得到了这两只鸟的照片.

洋燕
英名：Pacific Swallow
體長：l3cm
類別：留鳥 / 燕科

　在燕科中屬於體型較小的一種，身體背面黑色且有藍色的光澤，額、面為紅色，尾短，略為分叉，主要出現於農田或水塘邊，在國聖橋下和三股農地上空常見它們飛翔，飛行時翼下的覆羽為黑色。

英文资料网页:
http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/birds/Hirundo_tahitica.htm

Pacific Swallows eat insects, catching them during flight. To feast on swarming insects, they may join other birds like Swifts. But unlike Swifts that simply trawl the air with their mouths open, Swallows don't hunt on the wing. They perch and wait, then actually chase after individual prey and perform aerial acrobatics to catch them. Swallows also hunt at lower levels than Swifts.

Unlike Swifts, Swallows can perch and also come to the ground to drink or gather nesting material.

Pacific Swallows are found everywhere, but usually near water and open country. In Singapore, they are particularly common along the coasts, and also found in mangroves.

Migration? Pacific Swallows are resident. They are never found in such huge flocks as the visiting Barn Swallows, which they closely resemble.

Although they may feed together with Barn Swallows, they don't join the Barn Swallows huge roosts.
Mangrove and wetland wildlife at
Sungei Buloh Nature Park
Main features: Small (14cm); wing long; tail barely forked. Genders alike.
pacific swallow not in flight
Photo from
Morten Strange
Adult: Upperparts metallic blue; forehead, throat, upper breast chestnut; lowerparts grey, never white.

Juvenile: Upperparts browner; less chestnut on throat and forehead.

Call: Described as high pitched tweet in alarm; otherwise a cheerful twittering.

In flight: Dusky underwings and white tail marks.

Similar birds:
House Swift (Apus nepalensis): Flies with rapid shallow flapping interspersed by gliding; wings longer, slender scimitar-shaped; lacks tail streamers.
Barn Swallow (H. rustica): Has a black breast band, whiter underparts. Also tail streamers, but not diagnostic because the Barn may lose its tail streamers during a moult.

Status in Singapore: Very common resident throughout the island including North and South offshore islands.

World distribution: South India across the continent to Japan and the Philippines, down Southeast Asia to New Guinea and Tahiti.

Classification: Family Hirundinidae. World 89 species, Singapore 5 species.
Breeding: Resident Pacific Swallows nest on vertical surfaces with overhangs to protect their mud nest (which would disintegrate in the rain). These may be cliffs with an overhang but are often bridges, dams and other man-made structures. But they shy away from humans and prefer unoccupied buildings. They build solid nests out of mud pellets brought by the beakful from puddles and river banks. Combined with dry grasses, these pellets are arranged much like bricks to form shallow cups. These may be lined with dry grass and feathers. At a particularly suitable nest site, they may form large colonies. Usually 3 white eggs are laid. These are long and pointed and have brown spots.