Editing Cliff swallow (section)

{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{speciesbox
| name = Cliff swallow
| image = Petrochelidon pyrrhonota -flight -Palo Alto Baylands-8.jpg
| image_caption = At Palo Alto Baylands NR, California, US
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2016 |title=''Petrochelidon pyrrhonota'' |volume=2016 |page=e.T22712427A94333165 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22712427A94333165.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref>
| genus = Petrochelidon
| species = pyrrhonota
| authority = ([[Louis Pierre Vieillot|Vieillot]], 1817)
| synonyms = ''Petrochelidon lunifrons''
| range_map = Petrochelidon pyrrhonota map.svg
| range_map_caption = Approximate distribution map
{{leftlegend|#FF7F2A|Breeding}}{{leftlegend|#FFDD55|Migration}}{{leftlegend|#5F8DD3|Non-breeding}}
}}

The '''cliff swallow''' or ''' American cliff swallow''' ('''''Petrochelidon pyrrhonota''''') is a member of the [[passerine]] bird family [[Swallow|Hirundinidae]], the swallows and martins.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last1=Brown|first1=Charles R.|last2=Brown|first2=Mary B.|last3=Pyle|first3=Peter|last4=Patten|first4=Michael A.|title=Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota)|journal=The Birds of North America Online|language=en|doi=10.2173/bna.cliswa.03|year=2017|s2cid=83748545 }}</ref> The generic name ''Petrochelidon'' is derived from the [[Ancient Greek]] {{Transliteration|grc|petros}} meaning "stone" and {{Transliteration|grc|khelidon}} ({{Lang|grc|χελιδών}}) "swallow", and the specific name ''pyrrhonota'' comes from ''purrhos'' meaning "flame-coloured" and ''-notos'' "-backed".<ref name="job2">{{cite book|title=The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names|last=Jobling|first=James A|publisher=Christopher Helm|year=2010|isbn=978-1-4081-2501-4|location=London|pages=300, 327}}</ref>

Cliff swallows are extremely social songbirds that can be found in large nesting colonies reaching over 2,000 [[Bird nest|nest]]s.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=Swallow summer|last=Brown|first=Charles R.|date=1998|publisher=University of Nebraska Press|isbn=978-0803261457|oclc=38438988|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/swallowsummer00brow}}</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite web|url=https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Cliff_Swallow/id|title=Cliff Swallow|last=The Cornell Lab of Ornithology|date=2015|website=All About Birds|access-date=October 4, 2017}}</ref> They are frequently seen flying overhead in large [[Flocking (behavior)|flocks]] during [[Bird migration|migration]], gracefully foraging over fields for flying insects or perching tightly together on a wire preening under the sun.<ref name=":1" />

Cliff swallows build gourd-shaped nests made from mud with small entrance holes.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3">{{Cite book|title=The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America|last=Sibley|first=David|publisher=Borzoi Books – Knopf|year=2016|isbn=9780307957917|edition=Second|location=New York|oclc=945096007}}</ref> They build their nests tightly together, on top of one another, under [[bridge]]s or alongside mountain cliffs.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":1" /> Living in large populations, these aerial [[insectivore]]s use extensive vocalizations to communicate warnings or food availability to the other individuals.<ref name=":1" />