Division of Bird Habitat Conservation

Birdscapes: News from International Habitat Conservation Partnerships

Species at Risk

Blue Swallows: Down But Not Out
by Wendy Arnott and Steven Evans, Endangered Wildlife Trust

The blue swallow is South Africa’s most endangered bird—only 85 pairs are thought to occur here. There are only 1,500 breeding pairs believed remaining in the entirety of their African breeding range.

The swallow is an obligate species found only in high-altitude, mistbelt grassland and wetland habitats. Commercial timber harvest, sugarcane and potato farming, mining, and urban and rural population growth have destroyed vast tracts of these habitats and are largely responsible for the bird’s Critically Endangered status in South Africa.

Working on behalf of this species, the Endangered Wildlife Trust’s Blue Swallow Working Group (Working Group) has two simple but challenging goals: increase the bird’s habitats and its population. Toward that end, the Working Group collaborated with The Green Trust (a partnership between World Wildlife Fund/South Africa and Nedcor, a bank holding company), Sappi (a South African producer of wood-free paper), and BirdLife South Africa Working Group. Together, they initiated a campaign to prevent commercial afforestation at the Kaapsehoop Nature Reserve, a property supporting the highest concentration of breeding blue swallows in South Africa. They were successful. They also have prevented surface and underground mining companies from destroying other important nest sites.

In South Africa, blue swallows build their nests in old antbear holes, sinkholes, and mine shafts. As suitable grassland habitats have been lost, so too have available nest sites. To ameliorate the situation, volunteers are digging burrows that mimic natural nest sites. Noncolonial, the swallows attach their cup-shaped nests, made of mud and grass, to the side wall or roof of a burrow. The nest material is applied in layers, not in pellets as with other swallows. After lining the nest with white feathers, typically three eggs are laid, which the female incubates for 14 to 16 days. The young fledge in 23 to 26 days. Swallows often use the same holes year after year.

Volunteers biweekly monitor the nests of known breeding pairs in South Africa and Swaziland throughout the breeding season. With minimal disturbance, they check for the number of eggs laid and of chicks that survive and fledge. They also determine possible causes for mortality and record the orientation of the slope in which the nest hole is located, the altitude, the type of hole used, the hole’s dimensions, and the positioning of the nest in the hole.

The Working Group has developed public education and awareness programmes to promote the conservation of blue swallows and their habitats. For example, two guides have been trained to take local and international birding enthusiasts in search of the elusive blue swallow. The guides also teach rural school children about the swallow’s life history and habitat needs. Programmes such as these encourage responsible management of grasslands and wetlands and help to nurture respect for the blue swallow, ensuring its long-term survival.

Blue swallow conservation is not relegated to South Africa, however. These beautiful little birds are intra-African migrants found in Uganda, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Tanzania during the winter months. During summer, they migrate south to breeding grounds in South Africa, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, southeastern Congo, and southwestern Tanzania. In 2002, the Working Group developed an international conservation action plan for the species that includes all 10 African countries in which the swallow occurs. It is only through working together that we can hope to see Africa’s blue skies once again filled with blue swallows—it’s not too late.

For more information, contact Wendy Arnott, KwaZulu-Natal Programme Coordinator, Endangered Wildlife Trust, Blue Swallow Working Group, Post Office Eastwolds, Eastwolds, 3241 South Africa, +27 (0) 39 831 8401, wendunc@mweb.co.za, or Steven Evans, Manager, Endangered Wildlife Trust, Blue Swallow Working Group, P.O. Box 515, Randburg, 2125 South Africa, +27 (0) 11 789 1122, iba@birdlife.org.za, www.ewt.org.za.