Mystery Swallow Bird Picking on PMs? Found!!

Anthony Neira · Sun Jun 14, 2015 12:54 pm

O.K Bird experts on here, Fri. afternoon I was treated to sight of many fledglings taking flying lesson high above my tall Pecan trees. As they perched on top of some dead small tree limbs, I noticed that one of them was picking on the PMs perching there, chasing them away. I first thought it was a bossy female PM but I noticed it had the same body size, same wing shape, light colored breast, BUT a Slightly bigger V shaped tail than the PMs. Not a Long tail like a Scissor Fly Catcher, but ALMOST twice as big as a PM's. It got frustrated and finally flew away. I was certain it was not a Barn Swallow, as we have some next door and they a smaller than the PMs. Can anyone help identify this Bird in PM clothing ? Thanks, Anthony

Dallas · Sun Jun 14, 2015 1:13 pm

Could it be an Eastern Kingbird. They will harrass the martins.

Dallas

Sun Jun 14, 2015 1:43 pm

Eastern Kingbirds have a square tail, so they don't fit. Could be..uh... not sure. Can you try to get a photo?

Brad · Sun Jun 14, 2015 1:46 pm

It would be a Eastern Kingbird. Had the exact same thing happening.

Brad,

M.Stephens · Sun Jun 14, 2015 1:55 pm

I agree that it may be an eastern kingbird. Sounds like their behavior.
Anthony they look similar to a martin. A lot of people mistake them for martins. They don't have a pointed tail though....

terriergal · Sun Jun 14, 2015 3:37 pm

Kingbirds have a really loud screamy chattering call. It could be the Martins were too close to her best or babies.

You can look up / ID birds by all kinds of different criteria on what bird dot com, and they will usually have audio samples too.

Scully · Sun Jun 14, 2015 10:00 pm

Eastern Kingbirds generally do not breed in San Antonio, tho small numbers pass through in April and May on migration. I guess it could be one that is here anyway.

If it IS a kingbird, Western Kingbirds are common here.

Probably the most common birds harassing young martins here are great-tailed grackles. For those up north great-tailed grackles are about twice the size (in terms of weight) as common grackles up north, and the big males especially will attack and kill nestllngs and fledglings, including martins.

Once when I was lowering a gourd set at school a late nestling, the last one of a brood that should have all been fledged by that date and indeed was except for this sad remainder, fluttered out of the gourd and made it perhaps 50 yards before crash-landing on the school track.

Whereupon a flock of great-tailed grackles feeding on the football field thirty yards away immediately took off as one and landed around the grounded nestling and began to peck it

I rescued the weak nestling and put in back in the gourd but sadly found it dead in there the following week.

Early this morning too right after a heavy rain I witnessed a male (much larger than the females) great-tailed grackle in hot pursuit of another bird. The bird crashed into the side of a neighbor's house and fell to the ground, the grackle landed on the edge of the roof and was about to fly down when I came up. The grackle flew away.

It proved to be a recently fledged purple martin, sodden wet, the parents were flying around calling. Seeking to land the fallout on the roof where the parents could feed it and cats wouldn't get it I tossed the young martin into the air (single story home).

Instead of landing on the roof it took flight and flew off over the house. I did not see where it went, I hope it survived.

The good news is that great-tailed grackles do not seem to be effective predators on healthy fledglings.

Mike

Chris B · Mon Jun 15, 2015 11:41 am

I have not seen any of the numerous grackles harass any of my birds.

They will steal dawg food and poop all over the sidewalk. Not a very good bird to have around IMO.

Anthony Neira · Mon Jun 15, 2015 2:11 pm

Thanks for the replies everyone, Louise, I wish I had a camera/phone 0n me, but it happened rather quickly. I still see the image in my head of those swallow shape wings, Lt. Gray colored breast area & that slightly longer Gray V tail than a PM. I'm trying to look up Texas birds again & check out all those tail feathers !

Kinda reminded me of a coastal bird I've seen before (?) ! I'll update it soon ! Thanks again!

Anthony Neira · Mon Jun 15, 2015 3:44 pm

My Bad ! It came Back ! AND Again, I didn't have a camera, But IT WAS a Scissor Tail Flycatcher AFTER all! I went out to see the Fledglings fly around before the storms that are expected here this afternoon, and sure as heck, there was the gray-ish bird on top of the same tall dead branches ! As the young PMs got closer, the S.T.F.C got grumpy at them and tried to chase them away ! It's tail was not as long as most I've seen over at the Lackland AFB runway, Maybe it's a young one blown over here in the city, or just a lot of Bugs attracting them over to my place. I got the wings wrong, but this guy can sure hang in the Breeze ! It acts like it's never seen PMs before, where as the Barn Swallows over here are use to the PMs ! Thanks again everyone, maybe these West Ward winds will Blow him back to the Safety of the Airfield ! Take Care with these storms !

avesrun · Mon Jun 15, 2015 3:52 pm

Glad you got the id on your STFC! That's a pretty good yard bird to add to your list; wouldn't think they'd be a great threat to your martins but as we often find out birds of the same species can act differently among individuals at times. If I recall correctly the tail of the female STFC isn't as long as the male so maybe you're seeing a female; however, I could be wrong on that. Take care,
TimG

Anthony Neira · Mon Jun 15, 2015 4:02 pm

Thanks Tim, I think you're right ! She just Fusses at them!

M.Stephens · Mon Jun 15, 2015 10:28 pm

They get along at my site Anthony.........

avesrun · Mon Jun 15, 2015 10:39 pm

Great photo Malcom!

Anthony Neira · Tue Jun 16, 2015 3:05 pm

WOW! Yes ! Great Photo indeed ! Malcolm! I think my STFC might be VERY young and just didn't get the idea of all these PM youngsters landing all over "It's" dead branches ! For Now !

Good to see that they DO get along !

Either both Birds have lots of insects over here or maybe the STFC knows, where there's PMs, Barn Swallows, & C.Swifts, there MUST be food.

philsand · Tue Jun 16, 2015 5:16 pm

The Eastern King bird is a fly catcher. It sits on an object and make s short flights to catch an insect it sees. It does not want insect eating martins in its territory.

philsand · Tue Jun 16, 2015 6:53 pm

I just remembered, we called them Bee Martins when I was a boy.

tim414 · Wed Jun 17, 2015 1:01 am

Anthony Neira wrote:Thanks for the replies everyone, Louise, I wish I had a camera/phone 0n me, but it happened rather quickly. I still see the image in my head of those swallow shape wings, Lt. Gray colored breast area & that slightly longer Gray V tail than a PM. I'm trying to look up Texas birds again & check out all those tail feathers ! Kinda reminded me of a coastal bird I've seen before (?) ! I'll update it soon ! Thanks again!

I saw a bird last week in my pecan tree near one of the feeders which matches your above description Anthony..... I got the iPad out and tried to ID it using Bird Pro somthin or other (that's a paid app, can't remember whose app it is, could be Audobon or Cornell-it'sin Apple's app store). It allows you to put in those items you know, color, shape, bill, size ect.

I could not ID. Only thing I could come close too was tree swallow.....

tim414 · Wed Jun 17, 2015 1:15 am

Anthony Neira wrote:My Bad ! It came Back ! AND Again, I didn't have a camera, But IT WAS a Scissor Tail Flycatcher AFTER all! I went out to see the Fledglings fly around before the storms that are expected here this afternoon, and sure as heck, there was the gray-ish bird on top of the same tall dead branches ! As the young PMs got closer, the S.T.F.C got grumpy at them and tried to chase them away ! It's tail was not as long as most I've seen over at the Lackland AFB runway, Maybe it's a young one blown over here in the city, or just a lot of Bugs attracting them over to my place. I got the wings wrong, but this guy can sure hang in the Breeze ! It acts like it's never seen PMs before, where as the Barn Swallows over here are use to the PMs ! Thanks again everyone, maybe these West Ward winds will Blow him back to the Safety of the Airfield ! Take Care with these storms !

Pertaining to my previous post-

Wow, scissor tail was NOT in my tree last week....I know those real well, as they hunt in the pastures around me. I've never seen one come into the yard though. They will sit on the fence overlooking the pastures.

What I had was dark top, grayish underside, a bill which shaped very similar to a Martin, dark legs and about the size of a Martin.

The closest that paid app got was Tree Swallow. I saw the bird before, but, it's not a routine visitor. Frustrates me. I would like it to visit more-if I only knew what it was.

tim414 · Wed Jun 17, 2015 1:28 am

M.Stephens wrote:They get along at my site Anthony.........

Nice pic Malcolm.