How Swallows Adapted to Build Mud Nests
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- Опубліковано 9 лют 2025
- Swallows, martins and saw wings all belong to a family of passerine birds called the Hirundinidae, in which most members can build nests out of mud. These mud nests are usually attached to cliffs, bridges or buildings. Swallows are resourceful little birds, but how did this behavioural adaptation evolve?
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All images and footage within this video are used with a license.
References:
Winkler DW & Sheldon FH. Evolution of nest construction in swallows (Hirundinidae): A molecular phylogenetic perspective. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 1993;90:5705-5707.
Sheldon FH, et al. Phylogeny of swallows (Aves: Hirundinidae) estimated from nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequences. Mol Phylogenet Evol 2005;35:254-270.
Smith CCR, et al. Demographic inference in barn swallows using whole genome data shows signal for bottleneck and subspecies differentiation during the Holocene. Mol Ecol 2018;27:4200-4212.
Cage and Aviary Birds. Nest evolution from ground to cavity. Available at: www.cageandavi.... Accessed May 2022.
Heneberg P. Soil penetrability as a key factor affecting the nesting of burrowing birds. Ecol Res 2009; 24:453-459.
Jung Y, et al. Avian mud nest architecture by self-secreted saliva. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2021;118:e2018509118.
Music:
Aurora by Scott Buckley
Luminance by Scott Buckley
Where Stars Fall by Scott Buckley
Passage of Time by Scott Buckley
Titan by Scott Buckley
Age of Wonder by Scott Buckley
#swallow #naturedocumentary #swallownest #birdnest #nature #animals #wildlife #birds
how does this guy only have 24k subs? I could have sworn I was watching a documentary with millions of views from a big name publisher...
Minceraft
I know right!
Hi
New channel i guess. Just earlier this week he had 17k. Now he is at 23k
Yeah, and no joke, this guy is very impressive.
My house Martins have returned again this year. They have been coming to nest on my house for over 30 yrs. I believe they come from Africa to me here in England. It glades my heart when I see them arrive.
jep your right
all Swallows and swifts come from africa they stay down there during the winter months
then fly upwards into the northern parts in spring to raise theyr young
What a lovely documentary, thank you! We enjoy our swallows coming back to nest in our barn each year...
Gorgeous editing, wonderful shots, very good, calm, gentle and informative narration and above all offering a greater picture of what is life as a whole. So glad that this channel is getting recognition, keep it up.
Bro you're like a pro at this. I hope you get over 100k by the end of this year ❤️
Purple Martin's here in north America are my favorite Swallow, our largest swallow, returning each spring to my backyard, some use mud nesting in gourds, man made house's. Only Swallow dependent upon man for housing, in the fall they fly down to the Amazon basin South America. a great video.
Your voice is so darn calm and peaceful and it feels like a verbal bath where to fall asleep
Amazing!! I found your channel when you only had 500 subs! You’ve grown so much already and well deserved!! Keep it up man
Love the video! I live in North America and we have a pair of swallows that nest on a piller in the area in front of our front door. They have been doing this for a few years, rebuilding their mud nest every spring. It was fun to learn about the evolution of a behavior I get to observe in my everyday life.
Feel like I'm watching a Documentary
Feel like I'm breathing oxygen
I mean, you are?
Feel like the most stupid comment ever!
I was observing a grackle female earlier today gathering materials to make her nest. I love nature !!!
10:07 That one is not a swallow, looks like a house sparrow that took advantage of an old unoccupied swallow nest. Great video btw, keep it up man!
Oh wow thanks for spotting that! I hadn’t even noticed
Looks like a sparrow
Yea it's a house sparrow, here in north America they are not native, bought over from Europe in 1850, they kill our songbirds for housing, they're not protected by law here, we trap and shoot them. They are really bad completely for housing for purple martin Swallows, Eastern Bluebirds.
These and Bowerbirds are my favorite avian artists/architects.
Good work as always!
Can you make a video about the evolution of eusociality? In wasps, ants or bees maybe.
Oh damn yeah I'd like to see one on how dogs evolved to live alongside humans, and a lot of the adaptations they've gained-- like the ability to understand pointing gestures, track where humans are looking, and to a more omnivorous diet than their wolf/other canid ancestors
Thanks for the suggestion! That’s already on my list of video ideas! Hopefully I’ll get round to it soon 🙂
eusoziality prob /actually not evolved in ants or bees
just in wasps
cause bees and Ants diversed from Wasps million of years ago
so they just keept the eusozial trait
while some wild bees going solo
its way more unique for Termites cause Termites arent relatet to Ants ,Wasps or bees at all
theyr closer relatet to Roaches and Mantids
@@Kurominos1 It's a bit more complicated. From what I can understand, eusociality evolved 8 times independently in the order Hymenoptera. Bees evolved it on their own, while ants did descend from a eusocial wasp.
In any case, what interests me most is how this behavior evolved, it seems something very specific, complex, but very interesting.
@@Kurominos1 There are eusocial rodents as well.
Bumblebees seem to use a more primitive form of eusociality as well, colonies are made up of a mother and her daughters, but the daughters are all viable i.e. non-sterile. They are kept from laying eggs by the dominant/queen bee via pheromones
This video could not have come out at a better time for me. A bridge I cross several times a week has been home to a colony of swallows every year, and they’re coming out again. I see them weaving in the air, flying up under the bridge where I cannot see-and now I know what they are doing! They feed on the tiny flying insects over the river
amazing quality of video and narration!!!!
May the UA-cam algorithm bless ur channel
Awesome footage. Your channel is on the path to success
It’s not like it’s HIS footage. He just organizes edits and narrates. He’s had these good videos for over a year. How long is his path to success?
@@jamesbizs you sound mad for some reason
your channel is too underrated. youtube algorithm will work its magic for your channel im sure
So, for example how fast can these swallows fly when not carrying mud?
i- i dont know that-
And what it they carry a coconut ?
This one of those questions you ask when you didn’t read the book but have to participate in the group discussion for points
An African or European swallow ?
@@samdumaquis2033 thanks noble Knight
it would be great if some time later you could do a "behind the scenes" or a "Q&A" video because i'm curious about how this channel was made and how you get all the footage.
anyway, that's just an idea i had and though it would be cool to see. once again, great video
I wonder the same, is this a one man show or what. The quality is too amazing.
Great work, evolution is a great topic and you have information i haven't gotten in many years of youtubing
Yeeees another amazing channel blowing up! You really deserve it, keep up the amazing work
Love your videos! Bumping for the algarithm!
You've earned a subscriber.
I love your videos. Good job lad!
The swallow nest made from saliva is very looked after with good economical benefit. One question, what is the airspeed of unladen swallow ( not carrying mud )?
European or African
Another great video! Love your content
Gonna subscribe, just so I can flex I was sub'd before you blow up. Seriously, keep up the good work 👍
finally a channel entirely dedicated to why animals evolved to things
Very good video, so much to learn in 10 minutes that I never thought about before. Thanks for uploading
no doubt this channel is going to expload soon, keep up the good work and consistancy. insane you dont have more subs
They were blessed by the youtube recommended algorithm recently and their videos are decently high quality and cover an interesting topic. Not to mention that the length of the videos makes them more easily digestible to a wider audience.
Great vid as usual. Can’t wait for the next one
Thank you! Awesome footage, clear explanations!
Astonishing thanks for the video👍🏻👍🏻
What is your background? This content is incredible! You’ll certainly go far with this.
What a great nature channel!
I’m still shocked you don’t have at least 1 mil subs.
Video Idea: How Archer Fish Evolved to Shoot Prey Out of the Sky
Everytime I went to spend the day at the river you'd see thousands of swallows under the main bridge nesting. I saw their numbers dwindle though as the years passed I hope they're doing well.
They are all moving to Texas.
V.nice & Beautiful, Good job dear Sir,
Allah Bless You, Love From Kuwait..
🌹🌹🇰🇼🌹🌹🙏 الکویت ۔۔۔
I Love these birds.
What a beautiful presentation. Well done.
So was talking to my Beaver/Cub scouts about this last meeting .. next meeting they'll be attempting to make mud nests against the scout hut x 😁
Hello how are you doing?
Beautiful birds and nests .💓💓💓 from India.
Great videos! Keep it up!
I don’t even comment on UA-cam but this deserves everything!!!!! Keep pushing. You will be going to places!!!!
you have some amazing content on your channel. one of your first subscribers on your channel when you have like hundreds subs nice.
Criminally under-subscribed
An interesting subject spotted on. Basically, mud-based, but some as seen here are mixed with plant (grass?) material. Quality piece well presented! Thanks.
I'm in 💕 with this new channel
I like this kind videos
Those beautiful beautiful birds.
Awesome video!!!
3 D printing Mother Nature style
28 subscribers? i cannot believe it.in the next year it will hit 1 million subscribers.
In my home country, we have this bird called "João de Barro" or Rufous hornero, they too create mud nests but thiers seem much sturdier, the mud seems more compact and fuzed and s nest could last for generations even when exposed to weather for years, sometimes they even build nexts on top of previous generation's nests creating a tower, swallows often steal unnocupied nests that these birds make too
Truly mind boggling how God's creation is so beautiful and intricate!
*Great Narration & Great Video. Just Subscribed & Hope To See You Reach 1 Mil Subscribers Soon Buddy* 🤗
*ALL THE LOVE FROM INDIA* ❤
Beautiful video!
Yes I do observed a huge colony of Swallows at a near by old house.
These pretty birds use to fly at dawn in a group..we called these swallows as..Ababeel.. In Qurran we get the refference of these Swallows the Ababeel .chapter Fheel(Elephant).. Humans adopted the Architectural way of mud housing by these swallows centuries back...
Well put together information my man, just found your channel. Really worth it to subscribe to, if you love nature content it seems ^^
This is a true masterpiece!
Great video!
this is super interesting!!
Hi, do you have a spotify podcast? Your voice is so relaxing 🤍
Yeah believe I saw some Barn Swallows nesting on the side of an overpass here in Northern California. Lots of them...lots.
Suberb Video! Thanks!
جزاكم الله خيرا
On a bike path called the silver comet in Georgia that starts in Austell Georgia there is a bunch of swallow nest under the Bridges at this time the end of spring are closed mud nests identical to the 1s over there
Cliff Swallows.
great content keep it up :D
Wow what a smart home builder, I wonder what the blue print looks like and what elevation do they have, one BR two BR?
I think it would be more accurate to say that those birds *adapted* alongside humans to changes in behavior, not really that they *evolved* alongside humans. Those swallows and humans are still the same two species they were during hunter/gatherer times.
‘How do you know so much about swallows’
Hi.
Do you record everything yourself or do you use others' footage? I'd like to know more about this license as I want to make a documentary. thank you in advance
Thank you
❤❤❤ AWESOME ❤❤❤
youre my next david attenborough
I like this episode among others. Come to think of it, mud is the least used material for nest building among birds. Besides, unlike tree- or ground-nesting, they need a vertical wall to attach. The pick of this subject is thus sufficiently interesting. Although still some part demanding further researches, his method & stance to the subject is excellent & elegant as usual. Tracing back a historical fact & knowing how an end product of time looks like is explained stepwise. By the way, among Chinese cuisines, a swallow nest on the menu. It seems the nest is created exclusively with saliva ..... I'm not particularly encouraged.
How guppies became so ovoviviparous next please!
That’s a great idea! I actually have a tank full of guppies of my own that never stop breeding, so that will be interesting to research 😄
@@frankenscience3802 I love guppies, I just need to know man!!
Awesome
I feel like it's kinda of aphla how there's a nest way above the rest at 5:38
How do they identify their nests?😰
Just FYI, when the word "evolved" is used, most folks see it as a connotation of physical change, not personal behavior.
AMAZING,,,,,,,,,SUBHAN ALLAH
Nhiều chim quá toàn chim đẹp rất là tuyệt
Can they carry coconuts?
Here in Texas the nests have evolved to look more like guacamole bowls..makes sense. Lol
Accurate, I have a pair making a guacamole bowl right now on the patio 😂 Now I cant unsee it
@@jeepnj2502 😂😂😂😂😂
lol i missread the title for swellow like the bird pokemon
One reason when i brush my cat and leave his fur outside is so the birds can take it for their nests.
I do the same with my dog hair
In other words... all of these swallows still use their same nest-building behavior, their only "adaptation" is learning the benefit of nesting near humans. Purple martins, for example, have always built nests in cavities. Some in cavities in rock faces, others, like the subspecies in the Western US still nest in woodpecker cavities in cacti. Only the species, subis, nests exclusively in metal housing and/or plastic gourds. They, like cliff, barn and tree swallows (which don't use any mud, but build a grass and feather nest in a natural cavity or nest box), have learned the benefit of nesting near humans. There isn't any "evolution" to any of this. As trees with natural cavities/woodpecker excavations have disappeared/been removed/fallen, those species that nest in cavities have found alternative nesting sites. Barn and cliff swallows still build mud nests, purple martins will use some mud, but mostly build mud dams to protect their nests. And, rough-winged swallows, that normally use old burrows in river banks, are now learning to nest in man-made structures.
Domnul Suveran Iehova să fie lăudat în veci de veci pentru tot ce a creat în cer și pe pământ, prin Cristos Isus Domnul nostru! Amin! 🙏
But can they carry a 1lb coconut?
My workmate had a bad experience with this birds since their mud nest is kida clustered and heavy it fell on his head, huhu removing the nest is difficult cause its on the roof
Beautiful video and I learned a lot. My only comment is that it implies that humans live in wonderful harmony with nature and actually provide areas for birds to nest on our buildings. Humans are so destructive to nature. Many people knock those nest down because they don't like the birds, the nests, and the excrement that comes along with the nesting. I don't mean to say you should change your videos. The video is wonderful. I would just like a comment about human's behavior towards nature. Nature is wonderful. Humans not so much.
just wow
I wish I can make my house with mud and saliva on some random person’s territory. 😂
woah i thought i was watching Nat geo documentary
evo theory
What about an African Swallow?