Barn Swallow Sounds (Learn 3 Calls)
Barn Swallows are known for their forked tail and low-flying abilities. Swallows are typically spotted flying over fields and water as they hunt for insects.
Barn Swallows are also easy to spot while in the nest because they are the only swallow species that nest on human-made structures, like barns.
Barn Swallow CALLS AND SONGS:
- Make sure to press PLAY on the audio files below. 🙂
Sound #1: Twitter-Warble
Male and female Barn Swallows use this ‘twitter-warble’ as a courtship song and as a celebration for egg laying. Filled with rapid continuous warbles and mechanical sounding whirrs, if you have ever worked in an area with nesting Barn Swallows, then you have heard this song!
Sound #2: ‘Cheep’
Living in colonies has led Barn Swallows to have many calls for communication. This ‘cheep‘ call is used when a predator or other threat comes too close to the nest. If you are in a location with nesting Barn Swallows, you may hear this ‘cheep‘ if you were too close to a nest with young.
Sound #3: ‘Churee’
If a threat is not heeding the ‘cheep‘ warning, an adult Barn Swallow will call out ‘churee‘. This will cause adult Barn Swallows to abandon their nests and harass the threat instead.
This communal call to harass a threat has backfired on the Barn Swallow colonies, as bachelors have learned to fake this call to foil others’ attempts at mating.
Have you heard the calls and sounds of a Barn Swallow before?
If so, please let us know below!
