Swallows

The Bible emphasizes the fact that birds belong to the sky, and one of the outstanding bird families to illustrate that is the swallows. When not airborne, swallows typically perch on wires (like electric lines), on small tree branches, or on posts. Swallows, however, spend much of their time in the air.

This is because their diet consists almost exclusively of insects, especially mosquitoes and gnats. The general consensus is that a single swallow eats a minimum of nearly 1,000 insects per day; for some species it can be several thousand. They don’t catch these insects on the ground; instead, they catch them on the wing, darting through the air and constantly swerving around in pursuit.

Tree swallows average twenty miles of flight per day just hunting insects; barn swallows can fly up to 600 miles per day. (Those are the numbers I found. How would anyone know? I think they would have to place a tracking device on a bird to record the flight distance). Swallows can be airborne for an hour at a time without landing. They average four to seven hours of flight per day, and even more during migration.

The Bible has three references to swallows, represented by two different Hebrew words. The Bible refers to the swallows’ flying. “Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying, so a curse without cause does not alight” (Proverbs 26:2). A recent post looked at the sparrows, who flit about on the ground, and here we see a different bird behavior: the swallows are known for their flying.

Again, that flight is not without purpose. Flying swallows are hunting swallows. They are capturing insects to feed themselves and their voracious young. It is not difficult to see swallows in flight, although they can be easily missed if one doesn’t take the time to purposefully scan for them. Once spotted, however, they seem to be everywhere.

Here’s a challenge. Find some swallows. They are often found over fields, and they love to fly over open water. Most of their hunting is done below a ceiling of forty feet. Go to a lake and look low over the water until you spot a swallow (or several). Then try to track just one in its flight. See how long you can follow it.

As they fly, swallows sing. Well, “sing” might not be quite the right word. The Bible says “twitter.” “Like a swallow, like a crane, so I twitter; I moan like a dove; my eyes look wistfully to the heights; O Lord, I am oppressed, be my security” (Isaiah 38:14). Different species of swallows have different songs, but for the most part there is not really a melody; the song is more like repetitive or variable noises. It can seem like a chaotic mix of notes that go up and down.

Tree swallows sound like gurgling. Purple martins do gurgling chirps and clicks. Barn swallows make rapid scratchy noises. Bank swallows give a rapid chattering. Northern rough-winged swallows make a repeated rough buzz. The European red-rumped swallow, one of the swallows living in Israel, makes squeaking noises. So the Bible’s “twitter” is a good generalization.

The Bible’s third verse has to do with swallows when they finally land. “The bird also has found a house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even Your altars, O LORD of hosts, my King and my God” (Psalm 84:3). Different swallows have different kinds of nests. Regardless of the type of nest, they have to find that nest, or they have to find the place to build that nest.

Tree swallows are cavity nesters; they find holes in trees, and they also really like bluebird nest boxes. Purple martins are also cavity nesters, but they are social; they like to live in colonies. Traditionally, they have found collections of holes in trees or in cacti, and they favor the apartment- or condominium–style nesting sites put up by humans. Northern rough-winged swallows and bank swallows find dirt banks that they can burrow into. Barn swallows, cave swallows, and cliff swallows find a protected spot: a barn, a cave, a bridge, or the overhang of a cliff. Then they build cup- or cylinder-shaped nests out of mud mixed with grass.

Because of their voracious appetite for pesky insects, swallows are our friends, and they are often found by looking to the sky where they are so comfortable.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE ®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.