Talk:Swallow

message: Are there any myths or stories about swallows?
:: Well, they're mentioned often in Monty Python and the Holy Grail... dunno if that's the sort of thing you're looking for, though.--Deridolus 06:31, 10 July 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: If there are, they are likely to be specific to individual species, esp Barn Swallow jimfbleak 12:04, 10 July 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: No, we shouldn't. --24.64.174.183 (talk) 21:01, 3 July 2008 (UTC)

text: The myth that swallows hibernate, and could be found in a state of torpor, even under water, was a commonplace of natural history and even confused an obervant naturalist like Rev. Gilbert White of Selborne, Hampshire. This mistaken myth should be traced in a section of the article.--Wetman (talk) 22:04, 28 July 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: These kinds of myth were common for other migratory birds too - the Maori thought that the Long-tailed Cuckoo hibernated in the winter. It would be good to add this to the article, it's all about having the time, there is a lot that could be added to this article. Maybe I'll add this article to my lift of future family extensions. Sabine's Sunbird  talk 22:46, 28 July 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Myths and Stories about Swallows 

message: Swallow (bird) → Swallow – to put the main meaning of "Swallow" at Swallow. --Yath 11:15, 27 July 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Requested move

message: I gave this article a start rating. There is some information here, but a lot is still missing. The habitat section is currently just the nesting site - rather than anything else. I'm dubious that swallows hold territories (I'll check later), no information on taxonomy, relatives, worldwide distribution, migration, relationship with humans. Breeding information is currently in two separate places, and incomplete. Can I suggest a layout for family pages similar to that used by albatross? (Vain, I know, since I wrote it, but its based on the layout used in HBW). Sabine's Sunbird  talk 00:13, 13 March 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Habitat (other than  aerial) is difficult for the family as a whole, some are open country, some woodland, some always near water. Same migration, some do, some don't. Some of this is covered in the species accounts. I have Turner and Rose, Swallows and Martins . if that helps. jimfbleak 06:45, 13 March 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Yes, but it could be covered in broad strokes. Most familes are fairly diverse, and there are always exceptions. Writing family pages is really hard but something that needs to be tackled. Sabine's Sunbird  talk 07:16, 13 March 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Article rated per request

message: In Swallow#Breeding the sentence "Even in species where the male does not incubate the eggs the male may sit on them when the female is away to reduce heat loss." confuses me. Isn't sitting on the eggs to prevent heat loss incubation?
Thanks.  Saintrain (talk) 20:11, 20 May 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: Heh. Yeah, that could be clearer. Incubation is imparting warmth to the eggs from the body, not just stopping heat loss. I'll think about how to fix that. Sabine's Sunbird  talk 23:38, 27 July 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  What's ''incubation''? 

message: In Swallow#Breeding there's talk of a "New world" and "Old World", as in the sentence "The mud-nesters are most common in the Old World, particularly Africa, whereas cavity-nesters are the rule in the New World.". Perhaps this is some lingo used when talking about birds' geography, because it's not a geographical description that I'm familiar with. Does any one know?
Peter sjoberg (talk) 6:41, 28 August 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: It's a fairly common old school way to differentiate between the Americas (New World) and the Eurasia/Africa landmass (Old World). Biologists use it when taking biogeography (example Old World warbler versus New World warbler) but the terms are by no means restricted to biology.  Sabine's Sunbird  talk 06:51, 28 August 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  ''Old World'' and ''New World?'' 

message: According to the MOS, using a word as word (such as mentioning how swallow and martin are defined in the lead) is supposed to be in italics rather than quotes...only this can be a headache in biology articles as italics get used for binomial names, genera etc. I'll leave it to  as to what he wants to do about it.....Cas Liber (talk · contribs) 14:22, 29 March 2017 (UTC)
thread_title:  Words-as-words 

message: Which are these? Be good to add....Cas Liber (talk · contribs) 15:22, 29 March 2017 (UTC)
replies: text: NB:I recommend putting species list into a separate list article. Cas Liber (talk · contribs) 15:29, 29 March 2017 (UTC)
thread_title:  Study linking swallows with tits and/or whiteeyes 

message: *
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More to come Sabine's Sunbird  talk 01:02, 30 March 2017 (UTC)
thread_title: Papers on phylogeny to consider including

message: Hello! This is a note to let the editors of this article know that :File:Pied-winged swallow (Hirundo leucosoma).jpg will be appearing as picture of the day on . You can view and edit the POTD blurb at Template:POTD/2018-12-10. If this article needs any attention or maintenance, it would be preferable if that could be done before its appearance on the Main Page. Thanks  — Amakuru (talk) 13:14, 7 December 2018 (UTC)
thread_title:  Image from this article to appear as POTD soon 

message: Birds in this family are known as  ....swallows, ....martins or ....saw-wings.  Saw-wings are a distinct genus, therefore are not swallows or martins, except in so far as they are hirundines.  Psalidoprocne is a small genus, with members that are not well known and live far away from the main centres of the English language, and so are overlooked in many English language sources.  But they are hirundines, and any description of the family that omits them is therefore incomplete and therefore flawed.  And yet Amakuru seems determined to prevent my attempts to include them in the descriptions of the family. Kevin McE (talk) 09:09, 11 December 2018 (UTC)
replies: text: They are a type of swallow. I get your point but many animals can have different names from their common name - roadrunners are types of cuckoos and scaup, eider, pochard, teal, gadwall and widgeon are all types of duck. Sabine's Sunbird  talk 00:47, 5 January 2019 (UTC)
thread_title:  So are saw-wings not hirundines? 

message: Some papers to include. Sabine's Sunbird  talk 01:00, 5 January 2019 (UTC)
thread_title:  Papers to include 

message: :The "Taxonomy and systematics" sectiion, the second paragraph, 3rd, 4th, and 5th sentence: The words "core groups" are used, then "core martins", and basal, including "The saw-wings are the most basal of the three...", and "the more basal saw-wings...". Without any linking the average reader would likely have to go off-wiki to get any understanding. Of course, if by any chance one discovers Basal (phylogenetics), the article riddled with "citation needed" tags, I am not sure that is the greatest of ideas. If one reads far enough one may see (1st sentence, 3rd paragraph in the "Usage" section), "Despite the ubiquity of the usage of basal, systematists try to avoid its usage because its application to extant groups is unnecessary and misleading." 
:At any rate, could someone look at this to see if it can be written using a more "basal" approach? "...many students lacked even a basal familiarity with the topic". Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/basal "Basal"; accessed 11 Apr. 2023. Thanks, --  Otr500 (talk) 15:58, 11 April 2023 (UTC)
thread_title:  Clarification please?