Barn Swallow vs Great Cormorant

Hirundo rustica مقارنةً بـ Phalacrocorax carbo

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Side-by-Side Comparison

السمة Barn Swallow Great Cormorant
الاسم العلمي Hirundo rustica Phalacrocorax carbo
الرتبة Passeriformes Suliformes
الفصيلة Hirundinidae Phalacrocoracidae
حالة الحفاظ Least Concern Least Concern
الطول 19,0 cm (7.5 in) 90,0 cm (35.4 in)
طول الجناح 33,0 cm (13.0 in) 145,0 cm (57.1 in)
الوزن 19,0 g (0.67 oz) 2600,0 g (91.71 oz)
النظام الغذائي Aerial insects caught in continuous agile flight, including flies, beetles, moths, and aphids. Drinks by … Fish caught by diving from the surface. Pursues prey underwater using powerful feet for propulsion. …
عدد البيض في الوضع 2-7 1-7
Population Trend
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Size Comparison

Body Length
Barn Swallow 19,0 cm
Great Cormorant 90,0 cm
طول الجناح
Barn Swallow 33,0 cm
Great Cormorant 145,0 cm
الوزن
Barn Swallow 19,0 g
Great Cormorant 2600,0 g
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Habitat Comparison

الموائل المشتركة

Barn Swallow only

Great Cormorant only

بلا

Barn Swallow

Open farmland, meadows, and areas near water. Nests almost exclusively in human-made structures such as barns, bridges, and eaves.

Great Cormorant

Coasts, estuaries, lakes, rivers, and reservoirs. Nests in colonies in trees, on cliffs, or on the ground.

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Song & Call Comparison

Barn Swallow

الغناء

A rapid, twittering song: a long stream of 'vit-vit-vit' and rolling chirps. Also gives a sharp 'vit' flight call. Song can last many minutes without pause. Musical and liquid.

Great Cormorant

الغناء

Deep, guttural grunts and 'karrr' calls at colonies. Bill-clicking and hissing in threat displays. Silent at sea. Colonial noise can be deafening during the breeding season.

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Geographic Range & Migration

Barn Swallow

Breeds across the Northern Hemisphere in North America, Europe, and Asia. Winters in South America, Africa, and South Asia.

Great Cormorant

Very wide range across Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australasia. One of the most widespread cormorant species.

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حالة الحفاظ

Least Concern

Barn Swallow

Least Concern

Great Cormorant

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How to Tell Them Apart

Barn Swallow

الريش

Metallic blue-black upperparts, rufous forehead and throat, and pale buff to rufous underparts. Deeply forked tail with elongated outer streamers.

المنقار

Short, wide, flat black bill adapted for catching insects in flight

Great Cormorant

الريش

All black with a bronze-green gloss. White throat patch and white thigh patches in breeding season. Yellow-orange face patch around the bill base.

المنقار

Long, hooked, dark bill with a yellow gape

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About These Birds

Barn Swallow

The barn swallow is the most widespread swallow species in the world and has one of the longest migrations of any passerine. Its arrival signals spring across the Northern Hemisphere, inspiring cultural references from ancient Greece to modern poetry. Barn swallows have become almost entirely dependent on human structures for nesting.

Great Cormorant

The great cormorant is one of the most widespread seabirds in the world. Unlike most waterbirds, cormorants lack fully waterproof plumage, leading to the iconic pose of standing with wings spread open to dry. In Asia, cormorants have been used by fishermen to catch fish for over a thousand years.

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