Tree Swallow - Michigan Breeding Bird Atlas Website

Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)
Richard A. Wolinski
Oakland Co., MI 7/12/2009 © Darlene Friedman
The iridescent blue-green plumage of the
upper-parts coupled with a clear white breast
and undersides make this cavity nesting species
a common sight along shorelines and at inland
locations where nest boxes are erected in open
habitats (Turner and Rose 1989, Pinkowski
1991, Robertson et al. 1992).
The Tree Swallow is a breeding species of the
central and northern portions of the continental
U.S. northward to the limit of the tree-line in the
Canadian provinces and Alaska. The species is
largely absent from arid or heavily forested
areas, where it is locally distributed. It is
associated with open fields, lakeshores, and
wetland margins where nesting cavities in trees
have been excavated by woodpeckers, or in
human supplied nest boxes in otherwise upland
locations. The species winters in coastal areas
from the Carolinas southward into the Florida
peninsula and the island of Cuba and on the
Pacific coast from Mexico northward to
southern California (Turner and Rose 1989,
Robertson et al. 1992).
Distribution
In Michigan, the species is widely distributed
across the entire state, with highest density
based upon BBS route data in central Michigan
(Click to view a comparison of Atlas I to II)
west of Saginaw Bay, where 10 to 30 birds per
route were recorded between 1994 and 2003
(Sauer et al. 2008). The species density drops to
between one and three birds per route in the
eastern UP and in the heavily urbanized area of
southeast Michigan surrounding the Detroit
metropolitan area of the southern LP (Sauer et
al. 2008).
The BBS route data and results of both MBBA I
and MBBA II reflect the species’ historical
distribution. Barrows (1912) states “This is
probably our most abundant and uniformly
distributed swallow...”, and adds that the species
is less plentiful in the southern part of the state.
Wood (1951) adds that Sager listed the species
in his 1839 report and that the species was a
common summer resident. Less than a decade
later, Zimmerman and Van Tyne (1959) further
refined the species’ status, stating it was a
summer resident and that it was common in the
north, except on Isle Royale where it was
uncommon. They further note that it was
formerly common in the southern third of the
state and was considered rather local and only
fairly common as a breeding bird. Given the
increase in the human population on inland
lakes for home building, the loss of dead snags
for nesting in southern Michigan is not entirely
© 2011 Kalamazoo Nature Center

Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)
surprising and may be the reason for the
perceived decline. Kelley (1978) found the
species as a common nesting species in
southeastern Michigan, particularly near water.
Payne (1993) simply states that the species is a
common transient and summer resident.
Breeding Biology
As a secondary cavity nesting species, the Tree
Swallow is fully dependent upon existing
cavities, a trait that informs its behavior in terms
of its early spring arrival, defense of its selected
nest site against other Tree Swallows and other
species, and the delayed maturation of adult
plumage in the female (Robertson et al. 1992).
The species also exhibits a higher level of extrapair
copulations based upon recent studies that
show females often mate with males other than
the male with whom they have bonded (Dunn
2006), this reflecting the lack of mate guarding
behavior by the male.
The species’ flexibility in terms of using both
natural and human supplied cavities in the form
of nest boxes has doubtlessly aided its
distribution into southern Michigan from the
late 1800s into the early 1900s (Pinkowski
1991) and added to its abundance statewide.
Abundance and Population Trends
(Click to view trends from the BBS)
Similar to several other members of the swallow
family in Michigan, the Tree Swallow shows a
non-significant decline in population based
upon BBS route data between MBBA I and
MBBA II (Sauer et al. 2008), with declines
showing on the atlas distribution map across the
state in terms of block occupancy. The total
number of atlas blocks with some evidence of
breeding dropped about 15% for each of the
three regions of the state, seemingly a strong
indicator that the decline in numbers is real.
The BBS trend line for the Upper Midwest
showed a statistically significant upward trend
of 1.7% per year for 1966 to 2000 (Kleen et al.
2004). In general, the species is increasing or
stable in abundance in the southern portions of
Richard A. Wolinski
its range, but appears to be declining northward
(Lepage 2007).
Conservation Needs
No conservation action is needed for this
species given its wide distribution and robust
population level.
Literature Cited
Barrows, W.B. 1912. Michigan Bird Life.
Special Bulletin. Michigan Agricultural
College. Lansing, Michigan, USA.
Cook, A.J. 1893. Birds of Michigan, 2 nd
edition. Bulletin 94. Michigan Agricultural
Experimental Station, Lansing, Michigan,
USA.
Dunn, P. 2006. Tree Swallow (Tachycineta
bicolor). Pages 308-309 in N.J. Cutright,
B.R. Harriman, and R.W. Howe, editors.
Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Wisconsin.
Wisconsin Society for Ornithology.
Wasukesha, Wisconsin, USA.
Kelley, AH. 1978. Birds of Southeastern
Michigan and Southwestern Ontario.
Cranbrook Institute of Science Bulletin 50.
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, USA.
Kleen, V.M., L. Cordle, and R.A. Montgomery.
2004. The Illinois Breeding Bird Atlas.
Special Publication 26. Illinois Natural
History Survey. Champaign, Illinois, USA.
Lepage, D. 2007. Tree Swallow (Tachycineta
bicolor). Pages 390-391 in M.D. Cadman,
D.A. Sutherland, G.G. Beck, D. Lepage, and
A.R. Couturier, editors. Atlas of the
Breeding Birds of Ontario, 2001-2005. Bird
Studies Canada, Environment Canada,
Ontario Field Ornithologists, Ontario
Ministry of Natural Resources, and Ontario
Nature. Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Payne, R.B. 1983. A Distributional Checklist
of the Birds of Michigan. Miscellaneous
Publication 164. University of Michigan
Museum of Zoology. Ann Arbor, Michigan,
USA.
© 2011 Kalamazoo Nature Center

Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)
Richard A. Wolinski
Pinkowski, B. 1991. Tree Swallow
(Tachycineta bicolor). Pages 302-303 in R.
Brewer, G.A. McPeek, and R.J. Adams, Jr.
The Atlas of Breeding Birds of Michigan.
Michigan State University Press. East
Lansing, Michigan, USA.
Robertson, R.J., B.J. Stutchbury, and R.R.
Cohen. 1992. Tree Swallow (Tachycineta
bicolor). Account 11 in A. Poole and F
Gill, editors. The Birds of North America.
The Birds of North America, Inc.,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Sauer, J.R., J.E. Hines, J. Fallon. 2008. The
North American Breeding Bird Survey,
Results and Analysis 1966-2007. Version
5.15.2008. USGS, Patuxent Wildlife
Research Center. Laurel, Maryland, USA.
Turner, A., and C. Rose. 1989. Swallows and
Martins: An Identification Guide and
Handbook. Houghton Mifflin Company.
Boston, MA.
Wood, N.P. 1951. The Birds of Michigan.
Miscellaneous Publication 75. University of
Michigan Museum of Zoology. Ann Arbor,
Michigan, USA.
Zimmerman, D.A., and J. Van Tyne. 1959. A
Distributional Checklist of the Birds of
Michigan. Occasional Paper 608.
University of Michigan Museum of
Zoology. Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
Suggested Citation
Wolinski, R.A. 2011. Tree Swallow
(Tachycineta bicolor). In A.T. Chartier, J.J.
Baldy, and J.M. Brenneman, editors. The
Second Michigan Breeding Bird Atlas.
Kalamazoo Nature Center. Kalamazoo,
Michigan, USA. Accessed online at:
.
© 2011 Kalamazoo Nature Center