Cave Swallow
Description
The cave swallow (Petrochelidon fulva) is a medium-sized, squarish tailed swallow belonging to the same genus as the more familiar and widespread cliff swallow of North America. The cave swallow, also native to the Americas, nests and roosts primarily in caves and sinkholes.
The cave swallow measures 12 to 14 cm in length and weighs 19 g on average. The largest of the five subspecies, P. f. pallida, has an average wing length between 107.0 and 112.3 mm; the smallest subspecies, P. f. aequatorialis, has an average wing length between 93.0 and 93.5 mm. Differences between the sexes are minimal, both are similar in size and weight and are difficult to distinguish from their plumage. It has grey-blue upperparts and brown-tangerine forefront and throat.
Distribution & Habitat
The Cave Swallow occurs in the South-central United States,
Mexico, and the West Indies
including Puerto Rico, where
it is a common permanent
resident (Raffaele 1989a, Raffaele
and others 1998) and a fairly
common passage migrant
in Vieques (Gemmill 2015).
The Cave Swallow occurs in
open country, farms, beaches,
mangroves, marshes, and
towns (Oberle 2018). The atlas
fieldwork yielded a total of 449
records within 256 hexagons
or 53 percent of the 479 total
hexagons (see map). Of the 256 hexagons where this species was
found, breeding met the atlas
definition of confirmed in 42
percent (108) of the hexagons,
probable in 4 percent (10), and
possible in 39 percent (100),
while the species was observed
in 15 percent (38) of the
hexagons but without evidence
of breeding (see map). Cave Swallow distribution. The map shows the highest breeding code by hexagon and overlaying the ecological life zones in
Puerto Rico. Note: percentages may not total 100 due to rounding.
Breeding Habits
The Cave Swallow breeds in colonies, by building a mud
nest in a cave mouth, on a
building, or under a bridge
or ledge from March to July, 221Cave Swallow/Golondrina de Cuevasaccording to previously published reports (Oberle 2018,
Raffaele and others 1998). Atlas
results indicate that breeding
activity for this species extends
throughout the year and peaks
in June (see chart). Results
indicate that the Cave Swallow
breeds in all ecological life
zones, but most of the breeding
activity was reported within the
subtropical moist forest life zone
(73 percent of the hexagons)
(see table and map). Because the swallow commonly breeds
under bridges, its confirmed
breeding distribution appears
to follow major highways on
the island where bridges are
common and nests are easy to
find (e.g., highway from San Juan
to Caguas, Cayey, and Ponce)
(see map).
Conservation
The overall current population trend of the Cave Swallow is
increasing, and it is listed as a species of least concern by the
IUCN (BirdLife International
2019). Locally, this species is not
listed in any of the threatened
categories of PRDNER or USFWS.
In Puerto Rico, the Cave Swallow
has a protected habitat in land
of 13 percent or 695 km2 of the total area covered by the
hexagons where evidence of
breeding was found for this
species (~5212 km2).
Related Species
Family:
swallow