About to get Swallowed?
I still hadn't taken a decent flight shot of a Swallow so I tried a bit of target practice as I walked round a local reservoir and managed this lucky shot. The Swallow is gaping wide and is just about to devour what I think is a winged aphid or greenfly. If you click on it you can zoom in and see the insect quite well. This is a male Swallow too, identified by the length of his tail streamers. Female Swallows select males with the longest and most symmetrical tail streamers so they'll need to take care of that tail if they want to breed.
The migration of Swallows between Africa and Britain is now so well-known that everybody knows and accepts in. But until the late 18th century debate raged over where Swallows go in the winter. This debate went back for Millennia to the time of Aristotle (2400 years BPE), who thought they hibernated in holes in the ground or hollow trees, yet he also wrote about migration of Storks and other birds. The general view of scientists in the mid 18th century was that Swallows hibernated in holes, although some believed they did so in mud at the bottom of ponds. People noted that Swallows always appeared over ponds in early Spring, and there were many misleading reports by people who claimed to have found hibernating Swallows, including in pond mud. Even Gilbert White wrestled with the conflicting ideas including underwater hibernation, but did also consider migration. Two of White's correspondents, Thomas Pennant and Daines Barrington had polar opposite views, and White could not decide who was right. Pennant was adamant they migrated, but Barrington was equally adamant they hibernated. Gilbert White's indecision seems amazing given White's brother John was Chaplain at Gibraltar and had told him of Swallows moving through to and from Africa. By the late 18th century most authors believed in migration, but still treated Swallows differently because of "evidence" of hibernation. Nowadays we have satellite tracking and ringing recoveries and we know for certain that British Swallows spend the winter right down in South Africa, and even that they occur mainly in the eastern half of that country.
About to get Swallowed?
I still hadn't taken a decent flight shot of a Swallow so I tried a bit of target practice as I walked round a local reservoir and managed this lucky shot. The Swallow is gaping wide and is just about to devour what I think is a winged aphid or greenfly. If you click on it you can zoom in and see the insect quite well. This is a male Swallow too, identified by the length of his tail streamers. Female Swallows select males with the longest and most symmetrical tail streamers so they'll need to take care of that tail if they want to breed.
The migration of Swallows between Africa and Britain is now so well-known that everybody knows and accepts in. But until the late 18th century debate raged over where Swallows go in the winter. This debate went back for Millennia to the time of Aristotle (2400 years BPE), who thought they hibernated in holes in the ground or hollow trees, yet he also wrote about migration of Storks and other birds. The general view of scientists in the mid 18th century was that Swallows hibernated in holes, although some believed they did so in mud at the bottom of ponds. People noted that Swallows always appeared over ponds in early Spring, and there were many misleading reports by people who claimed to have found hibernating Swallows, including in pond mud. Even Gilbert White wrestled with the conflicting ideas including underwater hibernation, but did also consider migration. Two of White's correspondents, Thomas Pennant and Daines Barrington had polar opposite views, and White could not decide who was right. Pennant was adamant they migrated, but Barrington was equally adamant they hibernated. Gilbert White's indecision seems amazing given White's brother John was Chaplain at Gibraltar and had told him of Swallows moving through to and from Africa. By the late 18th century most authors believed in migration, but still treated Swallows differently because of "evidence" of hibernation. Nowadays we have satellite tracking and ringing recoveries and we know for certain that British Swallows spend the winter right down in South Africa, and even that they occur mainly in the eastern half of that country.