Bank Swallow (BANS)
Riparia riparia
Range
The Bank Swallow is very widespread in the U.S., breeding in nearly all of the northern-central U.S., almost all of Canada, and even the greater majority of Alaska. They winter on a small part of the coast of South America, and can be found migrating throughout all of the sections in between those locations.
Additional Maps
Identification
The Bank Swallow is a small, thin, aerodynamic bird with long wings and a short tail that fans out in flight. Mature males and females appear the same: a bright snow white belly and chin, with a charcoal gray head, throat stripe, and back. Those gray parts have almost a purple shade to them in the right light, while the flight and tail feathers are a deeper gray or black color. The bill of the Bank Swallow is very small and pointy, and is a shade of gray or black.
Juveniles appear similar to adults, but are more puffy and wide-eyed. They lack the purple shade to their feathers, instead being a medium gray shade with slight brown accents on the feathers of the wing. The white chin is also not as noticeable and the belly and chest areas are a much dirtier shade of white compared to mature individuals. The song of the Bank Swallow is a bubbly, twittering chatter that sounds like joyful radio static. The common call is a shorter, guttural version of the song.
Habitat
Bank Swallows live in a variety of habitats across open areas and wet areas near bodies of water like rivers, streams, lakes, and man made reservoirs. They forage near croplands and aquatic habitats, usually seen flitting over the water and feeding while in flight over the water. When nesting, the habitat of the Bank Swallow changes to large sandy cliffs or high vertical banks. The birds dig burrows into these cliffs and nest in the end of tunnel-like nesting holes.
Conservation Status
- Listed as Least Concern by BirdLife International
- Listed as Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
- Listed as Secure by Nature Serve Explorer
- Listed as Steep Decline by Partners in Flight
Status by State
- Listed as Vulnerable by California State Species of Greatest Conservation Need (C-23)
- Listed as Vulnerable by Nevada State Species of Greatest Conservation Need (pg 7)
- Listed as Vulnerable by New Mexico State Species of Greatest Conservation Need
- Listed as Vulnerable by Texas State Species of Greatest Conservation Need (pg 37)
Threats to Conservation
Some common threats to Bank Swallows include erosion of the cliffs and banks that they nest on, dams and flood control policies that limit the open waters that they feed from and live near, and coastal development of their habitats. They are also particularly sensitive to human disturbances, and will stress if humans are near their nests either just observing, or worse, developing the area and urbanizing it. Pesticides and the decrease of flying insects which the birds feed on also harm their populations.
Funding Opportunities
- America the Beautiful Challenge
- Community Forest Program
- ConocoPhillips Partnership for Public and Private Land Managers
- Community Forest Program
- Conservation Nation Grant Program
- Conservation Partners Legacy Grant Program
- Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)
- Fish and Wildlife Grants List for California
- Gulf Coast Conservation Grants Program
- Hewlett Foundation- Western Conservation Grants
- Land Trust Bird Conservation Initiative Small Grant Program
- Land and Water Conservation Fund Grant Program
- National Coastal Resilience Fund
- National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grants
- Natural Areas Research Grant
- Natural Legacy Program
- Nature Works
- Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act (NMBCA) Grant
- NFWF- America Restoration Grant
- NOAA Office for Coastal Management: Funding Opportunities
- North American Wetlands Conservation
- NRCS Wetland Mitigation Banking Program
- Pacific Birds U.S. Partnership
- Partners for Fish and Wildlife
- Point Blue California Restoration Grant
- Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP)
- Sacramento California Grant and Funding
- Sonoran Joint Venture Awards Program
- The Lawrence Foundation- Environmental Grants
- The Migratory Bird Program
- Tribal Wildlife Grants
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund
- Western Habitat Grant Proposals
- Wildlife Conservation Grants for Species Conservation
- Wildlife Diversity Grant Program
- Wildlife Habitat Grant Program
- Wisconsin Forest Landowner Grant Program