Fairy Martin

Every time I see a flock of Welcome Swallows skimming over a lagoon hunting for insects, I check to see if there is a Fairy Martin flying with them. Fairy martins (Petrochelidon ariel) differ from swallows in having a square tail (not the long swallow-tail of the swallow) and having a white patch on their rump. I saw one today in a flock of swallows. It’s always a thrill. When they perch together it is easy to tell the difference. The smaller Fairy Martin has a red head compared with the black head of the Swallow.

Fairy Martins are summer visitors to Victoria where they build incredible mud bottle nests under a bridge or culvert or verandah in colonies. They may also be seen hawking for insects over water or at the end of the season, flocking together to prepare for migrating North. I once saw a flock of 66 on a fence in Limestone Road.

We more commonly get the Tree Martin (Petrochelidon nigricans) which also migrates down in warmer months but it nests in holes in trees, and has a dark grey head. I used to see them every Spring seeking nest holes on Constitution Hill in Yea

The martins are clearly in the swallow family but that square tail and white rump are very distinctive. (Tree martins also have the white rump but it is more ‘muddy’/greyish.)

The Fairy Martin is a particularly nimble, delicate, pretty, acrobatic, airborne sprite usually found near water. When I feel like a lumbering earthbound lump, the thought of the Fairy Martin makes my spirit soar.