Laboratório de Tecnologia Educacional BIBLIOTECA DIGITAL               DE CIÊNCIAS

12 cm. Small, the legs, beak and neck are short. The back is blue and the belly white. Male and female are similar. The immature individuals are brown in the upper parts and buffy in the inferior parts.
Distribution:
From Costa Rica to Southern Brazil. In the Amazon region it is only seen during seasonal migrations.
Habitat:
Farms, villlages, cities and open areas in general. Uses rocky places and roofs to rest.
Diet:
Feeds on flying insects.
Reproduction:
The nest is similar to the one of Progne chalibea. The white eggs (2 to 6) are incubated by the couple. Male and female share the task of feeding the brood.
Natural history:
The southern populations migrate northwards after breeding. Are usually seen perched on electric wires. At twilight the flock intensifies the vocalization until every individual finds its sleeping site. When there is a hawk flying nearby the flock mobs around it.
In Northeast Brazil there is a legend saying that the one who shoots a swallow will lose the aim of the shotgun.