Expert: Roger Lederer - 4/27/2010

Question
QUESTION: Hello,

I live in the Northern Arizona city of Flagstaff.  It is spring and the birds are everywhere.  They sound wonderful!  I do have a question about them nesting and their behavior towards humans.  It appears that we might possibly have a nest(s) near our home.  After a morning walk with my son in the stroller, we walked up to our driveway and were suddenly dive bombed upon with what appears to be a Violet Green Swallow?  I have a field guide called "Birds of Arizona" and it appears to be that bird. It has prominent green on the top of its head and white wings, with dark black eyes. I've tried to go outside our house multiple times this morning only to be dive bombed each time!  This is the first time experiencing this around my home. I guess I'm not sure what to do.  Stay indoors with my kids till the babies have flown?  or if we go outside, will the birds leave us alone after a while?  They were pretty aggressive this morning, actually flying into our garage!  I just don't know what to expect and for how long.  
Thanks for listening!

Bianca

ANSWER: It's clearly defensive behavior. You are near their nest somewhere and they will probably keep this up until the young leave the nest. But I'm unclear on your description. Prominent green on the top of the head fits, but did you mean "white wings"? That doesn't fit. Violet Green Swallows are usually not that aggressive and I find it very unusual that they dive bomb you and fly into your garage. They are usually much more shy. Maybe you could give me a more detailed description?

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I'm sorry, you are correct.  Not white wings, but white chest?  Wings are brownish in color and so is the tail. If it is a Violet Green swallow, it's the male with more vivid color. I'd love to attach an image but they are fast and I don't have the best zoom on my camera. They have a higher chirping sound, it sound wonderful.

Answer
OK; you are correct- Violet Green Swallow. Anyway, they are harmless. They only eat insects. The only danger here is to the birds. If they use too much energy defending their nest and young, they might abandon the nest or not have enough time to catch enough insects to feed their young.