Birda Logo
Features
Birda+
About
Species Guide
Challenges
Shop
loading...
A photo of a Mangrove Swallow (Tachycineta albilinea)
Mangrove Swallow

Mangrove Swallow

Tachycineta albilinea

The Mangrove Swallow, Tachycineta albilinea, is a passerine bird with a penchant for coastal regions. This small, iridescent bird is adorned with blue-green upperparts and pure white underparts, including a distinctive white rump. Its tail and flight feathers are a contrasting blackish hue. A notable feature is the supraloral white streak, a white line near the eye, shared only with two other Tachycineta species.

Identification Tips

Adults boast a slightly forked black tail and blackish flight feathers. The bill is a petite black, and the eyes are dark brown. Juveniles present with grey-brown upperparts and a white-washed underbelly. The sexes are similar, though females may have a marginally longer tail and shorter wings compared to males.

Habitat

The Mangrove Swallow favors natural or artificial cavities near water for nesting, often choosing tree stumps or dead trees within close proximity to rivers or lakes.

Distribution

This species is indigenous to Mexico and Central America, extending its range from Mexico through to Panama. It is typically found at elevations below 600 meters in Mexico and up to 1,000 meters in Costa Rica, though it generally prefers lower altitudes.

Behaviour

Outside of breeding season, the Mangrove Swallow can be seen in small flocks, gliding over water with rapid wingbeats. When breeding, it becomes territorial and is often observed alone or in pairs. It perches frequently near water between foraging flights.

Song & Calls

The Mangrove Swallow's vocalizations include a soft trilling song, a rolled "jeerrrt" call, and a sharp alarm note to signal distress.

Breeding

Breeding season sees this swallow as highly territorial and aggressive towards other hirundines. It typically lays two broods during a five-month period, with nests built low but above typical flood levels. Both parents feed the nestlings, which fledge after 23-27 days.

Diet and Feeding

An aerial insectivore, the Mangrove Swallow hunts for large flying insects, such as dragonflies and bees. It forages close to the water's surface, often within 100 meters of its nest when feeding chicks, and may venture further when feeding itself.

Conservation status

The Mangrove Swallow is currently classified as Least Concern by the IUCN, with a population estimated to exceed 500,000 individuals. Despite a decreasing trend, the decline is not rapid enough to warrant a vulnerable status.

Mangrove Swallow Sounds


Recorded by: © 
App logo
Birda is a birdwatching app and community aimed at curious people who want to deepen their connection with nature.

Mangrove Swallows on Birda

Photos
Sightings

More Swallows, Martins

Birda Logo

Your birdwatching journey like never before

Connect with nature in minutes
Take a walk, look out of the window and log the birds that you see. Feel good about those little connections to nature.
Discover the joy of birding
Find new birding spots, see more birds, share and celebrate with a like-minded community of nature lovers.
Play your part in saving nature
Logging your birding sightings and sessions turns into positive action for our planet. Every sighting counts.

Birda Blog

What Our Birders Say
Paul F
Very good database
Highly recommend. It great that this app shows you male Vs female variations when posting. Very good database I'm really impressed.
Dan R
Great app for bird fanatics
Great app for bird fanatics - very user friendly and a perfect place to share sightings.
Viperray5
Loving it
I really enjoy being able to interact with other birders on this platform! This seems like a great way to meet other birders and find some new spots.
Marlster24
Recommend for any bird watcher
Very wholesome app: I joined this app with a new interest in watching birds to help me find out what I was spotting. The community is very active in helping identify birds which is great and everyone is very kind so it’s just a nice wholesome community. I would definitely recommend this for any bird spotter 😃
Dunners12345
Great App
Great app to use for logging and communicating with others who are interested in birds
778
Great bird recording
For a while I’ve been trying to find an app to easily record bird lists and day out and struggled to find one that I like. Birda is great for this, straightforward and a great community!
Madstherangers
A mordern game changer
Birda is an awesome app, its updated the world of birding to the modern day with a fun and easy to use app. It’s engaging and allows positive interaction with fellow bird lovers!
Alice J
Awesome Birding Community
I absolutely love the community aspect of this app. The app is so user friendly and has fun interactive challenges to get you out birding. I’ve tried others but since I’ve started using Birda I’ve not gone back!
Anonymous
The best bird logging app
Birda is honestly the best bird logging app I have seen. I love all the features it has from being able to do a session and log all the birds you see in one sitting, to being able to connect with other birders from all over the globe!
Talli A
My favourite app
As a young birdwatcher who was always keen to be apart of a community but never seemed to find one, my problem was solved downloading this!!! Everyone is so friendly and just as excited to see birds as me 😁
As featured in
Birda Logo
AboutPressAmbassadorsAffiliatesInfluencersCareersPrivacyTerms & Conditions
An app for birdwatchers
Connect with us
Copyright © 2024 Chirp Birding. All rights reserved.