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It has been interesting
seeing all of the wildlife in our Nature Center. Several birds
have begun nesting in our sanctuary. Two of them are the American
Robin and the Barn Swallow.
The American Robin belongs to the Turdidal family. It is common in North America and Europe.
The average size of a robin is 9 to 11 inches. It is dusky, gray above, and dirty orange-red below. The male robin has a black head and a black tail. The female has a gray tail and head.
The robin's habitat is residential and open woodland areas. The American Robins mostly always have three to five young in each family. Their nest is made up of small twigs and grass cemented with mud into a cup lined with softer plant fibers. The American robin's favorite place to nest is in trees, but they will also nest on a shelf or ledge on a barn or house. The female robin forms a cup-shaped nest from materials like grass, stems, roots, twigs, rags, strings, and paper. The male robin often follows the female on trips to and from the nest to help bring in nest materials.
American robins' eggs are robins-egg-blue
and they lay three to five per clutch. Their song is ''cheer up,
cheerily, cheer up, cheerily." Their call is "tut-tut-tut."
Newborn robins are blind and practically featherless and they
cannot stand. American robins breed throughout North America,
from Northern Canada and Alaska to Central Mexico. They are one
of the last birds to migrate in autumn. American robins are also
one of the first birds to return north in spring. The first robin
of spring is a popular sign that winter will soon be over. From
April to July, male American robins sing together for long periods
at dawn and dusk and for shorter periods during the days. Robins
often return to the same place each year to build their nests.
American robins eat fruit. They also eat beetles, cutworms, earthworms, and wire worms.
The Barn swallow is a kind of small, graceful bird. It has long, powerful, pointed wings and small feet suited only for perching. Barn swallows are found in almost all parts of the world. They have a steel-blue back, chestnut breast, and a deeply forked tail.
The barn swallow travels thousands of miles to avoid cold weather and find food. During their migrations, barn swallows fly by day and spend the nights in woods or marshes.
Some swallows make their nests in holes, riverbanks, or trees. The Barn swallow use pellets of mud to construct nests on the walls of cliffs, caves, and farm buildings. Some barn swallows nests in pairs, but most live in colonies. Others build nests of clay or mud on beams of bridges, on rafters in barns, or under leaves. Female barn swallows lay three to eight eggs that are solid white or white with brown spots.
The barn swallow's song is a pleasant quiet twittering. The call is a repeated swit-swit-swit. Flying insects are hunted in swoops or circling glides alternating with sharp turns. If flying insects are scarce, insects are taken from leaves or the ground. Large flies are preferred, but butterflies, moths, and other large insects are also caught. Tiny bugs are hunted in cold weather.
We learned a lot about the robin and barn swallow. We hope many more birds nest in our Nature Center.
By: Jessica, Tiphani, &
Jordan
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