My answer to Ellen's question was cliff swallows. The cliff swallow's scientific name is Petrochelidon pyrrhonota. The genus name is Latin and comes from the two Greek words: petros, meaning stone or rock from the places where the nests are often built and chelidon, meaning swallow. The species is Latin and means red-backed in reference to the rump.
The cliff swallow has a rusty throat and orange buffy forehead. It is a bird of the open country and catches its food (insects) on the wing just as other swallows do.
Before our country was settled, the cliff swallows were confined as breeding birds to our cliffs; however, they became quite common after finding man-made structures on which to build their nests. After several decades of unsuccessful competition with house sparrows, the cliff swallows have lost much of their territory. The cliff swallow's history, in Pennsylvania, is complex due to its being an "on again off again" species. It seems that the cliff swallows are present in an area for awhile and then disappear, only to re-appear in another area. Probably, the main reason for their disappearance is that the house sparrows force the cliff swallows to abandon their colonies.
Today, the mud nests of the cliff swallows are placed on the underside of bridges, on walls, cliffs and other vertical surfaces, where they are protected from the elements. Because cliff swallows forage for food in open areas and their nests are easy to find, they are confirmed in over 65 percent of the state.
Although cliff swallows are active at their nest sites upon their return in May, the first eggs, in the nests, do not appear until sometime in early June. This bird has an interesting form of specific nest parasitism. A cliff swallow will not only lay its eggs in another cliff swallow's nest but will also carry the eggs, in its mandible, from one nest to a neighboring nest in the same colony. A cliff swallow's nest will not adhere to a painted surface; therefore, the concrete bridges that are being constructed today are a benefit to the cliff swallows. Due to this, the cliff swallow population has increased within the state. The nests are built of mud in a globular shape, with an entrance hole, all of which give the nest the appearance of a miniature cave.
Later, in that week, Mary Alice asked me what kind of bird was at one of our feeders. Although I knew it was a wren, I had no idea what kind. After looking through a few bird books, I found it to be a winter wren. The winter wren is an uncommon resident during our winters here in Pennsylvania. Most of our winter wrens migrate southward. Both genus and species names are Troglodytes troglodytes, which is Greek and means creeper into holes; a cave dweller. I began wondering why this bird had the name of winter wren. So, back to the bird books, where I found the name of winter comes from the fact that a few hardy ones sometimes winter in Northern United States.
There are 59 species of wrens in the Western Hemisphere, with ten species in North America. The bird that we call the winter wren is simply known as wren in Europe. Although originally a Western Hemisphere bird, the winter wren extended its range (probably by the way of Alaska) to Europe many years ago and established itself there.
The diet of the winter wren is mostly insects; however, those that over winter must switch to seeds Winter wrens, which are often heard but not seen, are secretive birds, preferring dense thickets. Several days before the sighting at the feeder, we heard a bird calling, a very loud calling. Mary Alice asked what kind of bird was making that call? (She is always asking me questions I can't answer.) Although, I searched every limb of the tree, I could not find the bird doing the calling. Now, I wonder if it could have been the calling of the winter wren.
The winter wrens are usually seen during their spring migration near the end of March. Their fall migration begins during the last week of September and continues through November.
On the 25th of February, we were traveling north on Route 14, when I noticed the weeping willow trees beginning to show their yellow color and on the south facing slope, a tinge of red showing on the maples. This is surely a sign that spring is coming.