Cave Swallow?

[Ves]

Taken June 30, in south central Kansas at a large wetland area in the early morning.

There were hundreds of Cliff Swallows and many Barn swallows around. This place has been reliable for Cave Swallows in the summertime but they prove to be hard to photograph! They were around because I heard them flight-calling a few times. I wondered if the individuals in these photos could possibly be a Cave, but I am not good at separating them from young Cliff at all. I have had a few people say they are Cliff and a few say that it looks odd even for a immature Cliff. I'll post a few different individuals that looked odd to me

Thanks in advance for any help!

1. This is one of the individuals I probably questioned the most

2. As well as this one, which seems to have colour that stretches across the sides of the bird, which apparently can be a Cave trait

3. And one more, however I understand if this one (or if any of these) is unidentifiable, but the light throat colour which goes down the chest and seems to go down the sides seemed suspicious to me

I have a few others, but they are much worse photos than these haha. Thank you in advance for any help!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 1, 2020 by Ves
typo

[Benjamin]

Since no one else has responded, I'll take a stab at this.

The bird in the first image is pretty clearly a Cliff Swallow, notice the patchy dark throat which is a classic Cliff Swallow look. I don't think the next three are identifiable.

The last looks good for Cave Swallow, notice the light cheek and very uniform orangish coloration to the throat.

[Ves]

Thank you so much, I really appreciate it! I will note the patchy dark throat of the first and the light and uniform orangeish of the last, I'll have to look through my photos again to see if I can make out any more similar to the last

[Tony Leukering]

https://cobirds.org/Publications/ColoradoBirds/InTheScope/19.pdf

[ClarkT]

From the maps I've seen on the Cornell site, Cliff Swallows should only be migrating through south Louisiana.  But I've observed hundreds of nests underneath a wharf inside New Orleans.  Is it possible I'm observing some other, similar, nest?  Or is their nesting range perhaps wider than published?

Edited July 28, 2020 by ClarkT

[Charlie Spencer]

1 hour ago, ClarkT said:

From the maps I've seen on the Cornell site, Cliff Swallows should only be migrating through south Louisiana.  But I've observed hundreds of nests underneath a wharf inside New Orleans.  Is it possible I'm observing some other, similar, nest?  Or is their nesting range perhaps wider than published?

Welcome!

It's possible you're seeing Barn Swallows, not Cliffs.  But I interpret the maps as showing both species in breeding in that area.

Incidentally, you're better off creating a new discussion than reviving an old one.  Many members here will look at a topic once to see if they know the bird.  If they see it's old and already has multiple responses, they may not open it.

[Connor Cochrane]

Cliff Swallows breed in New Orleans. I can find multiple eBird checklists that mention them nesting. They seem to still be fairly common throughout the summer: https://ebird.org/barchart?r=US-LA-071&bmo=1&emo=12&byr=1900&eyr=2020&spp=cliswa.

 

Heres a checklist with some Cliff Swallow nests: https://ebird.org/checklist/S47080516