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

SummerOpen Water (Fresh)Regional / representative. Shown: Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, Georgia; representative pond ecosystem, a neighboring state.Georgia pond and emergent wetland, Robert 'Bob' Hynes, 1997. Public domain. Source record.

SummerCentral Interior and Appalachian Swamp Systems; Southern Piedmont/Ridge and Valley Upland Depression SwampRegional / representative. Shown: Southern coastal swamps, Florida to Virginia; state not identified, a neighboring state.Loblolly bay in a coastal swamp, Marian Ellis Rowan, 1901. Public domain. Source record.

Coastal dunes and beaches

Open sand of beaches, dunes and the hollows between them.

SummerUnconsolidated Shore (Beach/Dune)

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

Streams, rivers and their banks

Flowing water and its banks, bars and rocky shoals.

SummerCentral Interior and Appalachian Riparian Systems; Cumberland Riverscour; South-Central Interior Small Stream and Riparian

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.

SummerOnly within 2,000 m of water.Disturbed/Successional - Shrub Regeneration; Harvested Forest - Shrub RegenerationNamed place / source context. Shown: Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, Georgia and Tennessee; which part is not recorded, a neighboring state.Wooded scene looking out over partially open fields, Richard Schlecht, undated. Public domain. Source record.

SummerOnly within 2,000 m of water.Southern Interior Acid CliffSolution pits on granite. Shown: Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve, DeKalb County, Georgia, a neighboring state.Solution pits, Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve, DeKalb County, Alan M. Cressler / U.S. Geological Survey, 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

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.

Developed, Low Intensity Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
Developed, Medium Intensity Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
Open Water (Aquaculture) Summer.
Unconsolidated Shore (Lake/River/Pond) Summer.
Central Interior Calcareous Cliff and Talus Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
Central Interior 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 Appalachian Acidic Cliff and Talus Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
Southern Appalachian Montane Cliff Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
Southern Appalachian Rocky Summit 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.
Western Great Plains Wooded Draw and Ravine Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
Northeastern Interior Pine Barrens Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
North-Central Interior Oak Savanna Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
North-Central Oak Barrens Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
Southern Piedmont Glade and Barrens Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
Nashville Basin Limestone Glade 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 Nepheline Syenite Glade Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
Eastern Highland Rim Prairie and Barrens - Dry Modifier Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
Central Mixedgrass Prairie Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
North-Central Interior Sand and Gravel Tallgrass Prairie Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
Arkansas Valley Prairie and Woodland Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
Central Tallgrass Prairie Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
Southern Blackland Tallgrass Prairie Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
Southeastern Great Plains Tallgrass Prairie Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Calcareous Prairie Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Calcareous Prairie Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
Texas-Louisiana Coastal Prairie Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
Central and Upper Texas Coast Dune and Coastal Grassland Summer.
Harvested Forest - Grass/Forb Regeneration Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
Recently Burned Grassland Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
Recently Burned Shrubland Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Forbland Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Annual Grassland 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.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall Summer.
Central Interior and Appalachian Shrub-Herbaceous Wetland Systems Summer.
Central Florida Herbaceous Seep Summer.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Large River Swamp Summer.
Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Basin Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest Summer.
Southern and Central Appalachian Bog and Fen Summer.
Texas Saline Coastal Prairie Summer.
Eastern Great Plains Wet Meadow, Prairie, and Marsh Summer.
Western Great Plains Depressional Wetland Systems Summer.
Central Florida Herbaceous Pondshore Summer.
Central Appalachian Riparian - Forest Modifier Summer.
South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Herbaceous Modifier Summer.
Western Great Plains Floodplain Systems Summer.
Eastern Great Plains Floodplain Systems Summer.
Tamaulipan Riparian Systems Summer.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Forest Summer.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest Summer.
Red River Large Floodplain Forest Summer.
Texas-Louisiana Coastal Prairie Slough Summer.
Ozark-Ouachita Riparian Summer.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Summer.
Central Florida Pine Flatwoods Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Flatwoods Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
North-Central Interior Wet Flatwoods Summer.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Nonriverine Wet Hardwood Flatwoods Summer.