Barn Swallow: Song & calls

  • Song: A long, chattering, babbling series of twittering phrases ending in a dry rattle — phonetically roughly "vit-vit-vit-vitrr...tvitvitvit"; it likes to sing while perched on a telephone wire or a roof ridge.
  • Call: A distinct "vit" or "tvitt" — heard in flight and at the nest; variations in frequency are used for communication within the flock.
  • Alarm: A sharp "sjirrr" when a bird of prey appears; it triggers an immediate reaction throughout the colony, with collective mobbing of the intruder.

Listen to the Barn Swallow on xeno-canto and see observations on Artportalen (the Swedish species observation system).

More about the Barn Swallow

  • Breeding
  • Nest & eggs
  • Diet
  • In winter
Back to Barn Swallow · Read in Swedish