Bird

Cliff Swallow

Petrochelidon pyrrhonota

A summer resident that nests in Alabama. Found in all 67 counties, across 12 habitats.

Here: Summer and on migration
Nesting: Nests here
Range: All 67 counties
Habitats: 12

Adult Cliff Swallow, whole bird — **Adult**. (c) Stefan Wolmarans, some rights reserved (CC BY). CC BY. iNaturalist photo 458012327. iNaturalist large derivative; no local crop or retouch.

At a glance

Group: Birds
Here: Summer and on migration
Nesting: Nests here
Range: All 67 counties
Habitats: 12
Habitat models: Summer

Where it lives

The places its habitat model includes. It is not found everywhere a habitat occurs.

Habitats in Alabama 12

Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 12

SummerUnconsolidated Shore (Beach/Dune)George Catlin, White Sand Bluffs, on Santa Rosa Island, Near Pensacola (1834-35): high white dunes with scattered clumps of dune plants above the Gulf. Shown: Santa Rosa Island near Pensacola, Florida, a neighboring state.White Sand Bluffs, on Santa Rosa Island, Near Pensacola, George Catlin (1796-1872), 1834-1835. Public domain. Source record.

SummerOpen Water (Fresh)Martin Johnson Heade, Florida Sunrise: still water and a palm-fringed shore glowing at dawn. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: Florida (Heade, Florida Sunrise, c. 1890-1900), a neighboring state.Florida Sunrisetitle QS:P1476,en:"Florida Sunrise"label QS:Len,"Florida Sunrise", Martin Johnson Heade, c. 1890-1900. Public domain. Source record.

SummerCentral Interior and Appalachian Riparian Systems; Cumberland Riverscour; South-Central Interior Small Stream and RiparianWinslow Homer, Blue Spring, Florida (1890): clear blue spring water under overhanging palms. Shown: Blue Spring, Florida (Winslow Homer, 1890; National Gallery of Art), a neighboring state.Blue Spring, Florida, Winslow Homer, 1890. Public domain. Source record.

SummerCentral Interior and Appalachian Swamp Systems; Southern Piedmont/Ridge and Valley Upland Depression SwampFlorida, Sunset on the Ocklawaha (1899): a dark swamp-lined river at sunset, with cypress and hardwoods crowding both banks. Shown: Ocklawaha River, Florida, a neighboring state.Florida, Sunset on the Ocklawaha, Detroit Photographic Co. (chromolithograph), 1899. Public domain. Source record.

Disturbed and introduced wetlands

Wet ground taken over by weedy or introduced plants after disturbance, such as common reed, Chinese tallow or tamarisk stands; the upland counterpart is roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.

Summer

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.

SummerSouth-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Forest Modifier; Southern Piedmont Large Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier; Central Interior and Appalachian Floodplain Systems; Central Interior and Appalachian Riparian Systems; Southern Piedmont Small Floodplain and Riparian Forest; South-Central Interior Small Stream and Riparian; South-Central Interior Large Floodplain

Hardwood and oak flatwoods

Flat, poorly drained uplands and terraces with oaks, sweetgum and sometimes loblolly pine, wet in winter and dry in summer, but neither a floodplain nor a swamp.

SummerSouth-Central Interior / Upper Coastal Plain Wet Flatwoods

SummerOnly within 2,000 m of water.Southern Piedmont CliffNamed place / source context. Shown: Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, Georgia, a neighboring state.Trees and rocks on Little Kennesaw Mountain., Unidentified in HFC record, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Dry forests and woodlands

Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.

SummerOnly within 2,000 m of water.Southeastern Interior Longleaf Pine Woodland

Forest edges and thickets

Borders of forests, clearings and shrubby thickets.

SummerOnly within 2,000 m of water.Disturbed/Successional - Shrub Regeneration; Harvested Forest - Shrub Regeneration

Granite and other acidic rock outcrops

Bare or thin-soil rock on granite, gneiss, sandstone, quartzite and similar acidic rock, including granite flatrocks and domes.

SummerOnly within 2,000 m of water.Southern Interior Acid Cliff

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

SummerOnly within 2,000 m of water.Developed, Open Space; Cultivated Cropland; Pasture/Hay; Disturbed/Successional - Grass/Forb Regeneration; Utility Swath - Herbaceous; Disturbed, Non-specific; Ruderal Upland - Old Field

Other habitats in its models (64)

Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in Alabama. Those recorded in Alabama first, the rest by region.

In Alabama 1

Southern Piedmont Glade and Barrens Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.

Elsewhere in the South (28)

Central and Upper Texas Coast Dune and Coastal Grassland Summer.
Central Florida Herbaceous Pondshore Summer.
Central Florida Herbaceous Seep Summer.
Central Florida Pine Flatwoods Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
East-Central Texas Plains Post Oak Savanna and Woodland Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
East-Central Texas Plains Riparian Forest Summer.
Edwards Plateau Limestone Savanna and Woodland Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
Nashville Basin Limestone Glade Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
Ozark-Ouachita Riparian Summer.
Red River Large Floodplain Forest Summer.
Southeastern Great Plains Tallgrass Prairie Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
Southern and Central Appalachian Bog and Fen Summer.
Southern Appalachian Montane Cliff Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
Southern Appalachian Rocky Summit Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
Southern Blackland Tallgrass Prairie Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
Texas Saline Coastal Prairie Summer.
Texas-Louisiana Coastal Prairie Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Catahoula Barrens Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest Summer.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Large River Swamp Summer.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Nepheline Syenite Glade Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Nonriverine Wet Hardwood Flatwoods Summer.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Calcareous Prairie Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Flatwoods Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall Summer.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Forest Summer.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Calcareous Prairie Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Summer.

Northeast (5)

North-Central Appalachian Acidic Cliff and Talus Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
North-Central Appalachian Circumneutral Cliff and Talus Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
North-Central Interior Wet Flatwoods Summer.
Northeastern Interior Pine Barrens Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Basin Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest Summer.

Midwest (8)

Central Interior Acidic Cliff and Talus Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
Central Interior Calcareous Cliff and Talus Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
Central Mixedgrass Prairie Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
Central Tallgrass Prairie Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
North-Central Interior Oak Savanna Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
North-Central Interior Sand and Gravel Tallgrass Prairie Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
North-Central Oak Barrens Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
Western Great Plains Wooded Draw and Ravine Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.

Land cover and other classes (22)

Arkansas Valley Prairie and Woodland Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
Central Appalachian Riparian - Forest Modifier Summer.
Central Interior and Appalachian Shrub-Herbaceous Wetland Systems Summer.
Developed, Low Intensity Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
Developed, Medium Intensity Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
Eastern Great Plains Floodplain Systems Summer.
Eastern Great Plains Wet Meadow, Prairie, and Marsh Summer.
Eastern Highland Rim Prairie and Barrens - Dry Modifier Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
Harvested Forest - Grass/Forb Regeneration Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Annual Grassland Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Forbland Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
Modified/Managed Southern Tall Grassland Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
Open Water (Aquaculture) Summer.
Recently Burned Grassland Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
Recently Burned Shrubland Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Herbaceous Modifier Summer.
Tamaulipan Riparian Systems Summer.
Texas-Louisiana Coastal Prairie Slough Summer.
Unconsolidated Shore (Lake/River/Pond) Summer.
Western Great Plains Depressional Wetland Systems Summer.
Western Great Plains Floodplain Systems Summer.

All habitats

Seasons in Alabama

Migratory: does not nest here, in 23 of 67 counties.
Summer: nests here, in 66 of 67 counties.

Also found in its main habitats

Its main habitats in Alabama, by how much of its habitat model each one is, with the birds most characteristic of each and the plants that grow wild there. Shared habitat, not food.