| Woodswallows | ||||||||||||||
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Dusky Woodswallow. | ||||||||||||||
| Scientific Classification | ||||||||||||||
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Woodswallows are soft-plumaged, somber-coloured passerine birds found in Australia and the islands nearby. Given their moderate size—about the same as a Common Starling—and dull plumage, they are amongst the easiest of birds to observe and recognise: in flight, they look very like large, stiff-winged swallows, and like swallows, they eat very else except flying insects.
Woodswallows are smooth, agile flyers with moderately large, semi-triangular wings. They are among the very few passerinee birds that soar, and can often be seen feeding just above the treetops. One sedentary specias aside, they are nomads, following the best conditions for flying insects, and often roosting in large flocks.
Although woodswallows have a brush-tipped tongue they seldom use it for gathering nectar.