page_title: Violet-green swallow
section_title: Interspecific competition
hierarchical_section_title: Violet-green swallow / Behaviour / Interspecific competition
caption_attribution_description: English: «&#160;Tachycineta thalassinus&#160;» = Tachycineta thalassina (Violet-green Swallow) Français&#160;: «&#160;Tachycineta thalassinus&#160;» = Tachycineta thalassina (Hirondelle à face blanche)
context_page_description: The violet-green swallow is a small North American passerine bird in the swallow family. These aerial insectivores are distributed along the west coast from Alaska to Mexico, extending as far east as Montana and Texas. With an appearance very similar to the tree swallow, these individuals can be identified by the white rump side-patches that appear to separate their green back and purple tail. Violet-green swallows are secondary cavity nesters, found in a number of habitats including deciduous and coniferous forest. In addition to nesting in tree holes within these habitats, they are also widely observed nesting in the cracks of large cliffs.
context_section_description: Similar to the occasional observation of violet-green swallows building interspecific cooperative relationships, they have also been involved in interspecific competition for nesting sites. One example from 1974, noted the competitive behaviour between mountain chickadees and violet-green swallows. The physical altercation began when a pair of swallows attempted to overtake a nesting site occupied by a pair of chickadees and their fledglings. After multiple aerial battles, the chickadees regained control of their nest and successfully defended against future violet-green swallow attacks. The same field observer noted a similar altercation between violet-green swallows and hairy woodpeckers, which resulted in the same outcome. These species are permanent residents, allowing them first choice of nesting sites, while the violet-green swallows are summer residents with late breeding habits. Thus, a scarcity of viable nesting sites may lead to this interspecific competitive behaviour in violet-green swallows. A similar observation of competitive behaviour for potential nesting sites has been observed between acorn woodpeckers and violet-green swallows.
caption: An 1894 drawing of a male and female violet-green swallow
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