Feeding Behavior

Forages by watching from a perch and darting out to catch insects, often just above water. Catches insects in mid-air, or may hover while picking them from foliage or sometimes from water's surface. May also take insects from the ground, especially in cool weather. Indigestible parts of insects are coughed up as pellets. Male and female maintain separate feeding territories in winter.

Eggs

4, sometimes 3-6. White; some (thought to be the last laid) may have reddish-brown dots. Incubation is by female only, 15-17 days. Young: Fed by both parents. May leave nest 2-3 weeks after hatching. Usually 2 broods per year, rarely 3.

Young

Fed by both parents. May leave nest 2-3 weeks after hatching. Usually 2 broods per year, rarely 3.

Diet

Almost entirely insects. Feeds on a wide variety of insects including beetles, grasshoppers, crickets, wild bees, wasps, flies, moths, caterpillars. Occasionally eats small fish.

Nesting

In courtship, male performs song-flight display, fluttering in the air with rapidly repeated calls, then descending slowly. Nest: Mud nests are usually plastered to sheltered spot such as cliff face, bridge support, culvert, or under eaves of building. Occasionally in well a few feet below ground level. Often returns to same nesting site year after year. Nest (probably built by female) is an open cup, semi-circular if attached to vertical wall, circular if placed on flat beam. Nest is made of mud mixed with grass and weeds, lined with soft materials such as plant fibers, rootlets, hair.