Northern Rough-Winged Swallow (Stelgidopteryx serripennis) lives in open areas across North America. It feeds on insects & spiders. Its conservation status is Least Concern.
Fascinating facts about the Northern Rough-Winged Swallow
- At just 13-15 cm long, the northern rough-winged swallow fits on the tip of a ruler, yet its wings stretch 27-30 cm. Weighing only 10-18 g, it's. Males sport longer, broader undertail coverts and hooked barbs on the outer web of their outer primary wings, while females have shorter, straighter barbs.
- Six subspecies of this swallow have been formally recognized, each with its own subtle shade or size tweak. The nominate S. s. serripennis spans from southern Alaska to the southern United States, while S. s. psammochrous, described in 1929, breeds in the southwestern US and looks paler on crown and rump. S. s. fulvipennis, first split off in 1860, is darker above with a slightly buff throat. The darkest, S. s. burleighi, lives in Belize and Guatemala, and the very dark S. s. stuarti of southern Mexico to eastern Guatemala also shows a buff throat.
- These swallows turn abandoned burrows into tidy homes, choosing tunnels that range from a modest 20 cm to a deep 200 cm, about the length of a kitchen countertop. Most nests sit in passages 30-100 cm long and hang between 0.2 and 30 m above ground, from the low edge of a riverbank to the height of a ten-story building. The female gathers almost every fibre, grass, twigs, pine needles, even moss and dung, to line the nest, showcasing an impressive DIY skill set.
- A single clutch holds four to eight glossy white eggs, each about 20 × 14 mm, roughly the size of a small jellybean. clutch size decreases with decreasing latitude. The female incubates the brood for 16-18 days, starting as soon as the first egg is laid, which means the chicks hatch at different times.
- With an estimated 27 million mature individuals in 2025, this swallow comfortably meets the IUCN's "least concern" threshold, even though numbers are slowly slipping. Its ability to nest in human-made cavities helps buffer against habitat loss, showing how adaptability can keep a species out of the danger zone. Still, the gentle decline warns that even flexible birds need monitoring to stay safe.
Sources
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At a glance
RangeNorth America
HabitatOpen areas
DietInsects & spiders
About the Northern Rough-Winged Swallow
As the sun rises over the rippling waters, a dark, agile form darts and weaves, its sleek silhouette slicing through the air with effortless precision - the Northern Rough-Winged Swallow, a master of aerial acrobatics, pursuing the tiny insects that dance in the morning light. With its wings beating at a furious pace, this diminutive bird is a whirlwind of motion, its swift, erratic flight a testament to its remarkable agility and tenacity. In its element, the Northern Rough-Winged Swallow is a true marvel, a dynamic, kinetic force that embodies the very essence of flight.
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