Editing Barn swallow (section)

== Parasites and predators ==
[[File:Feather hole.jpg|thumb|right|Feeding trace of ''Brueelia'' lice on a tail feather|alt=See caption]]

Barn swallows (and other small [[passerines]]) often have characteristic [[feather holes]] on their wing and tail feathers. These holes were suggested as being caused by [[Phthiraptera|avian lice]] such as ''[[Machaerilaemus malleus]]'' and ''[[Myrsidea rustica]]'', although other studies suggest that they are mainly caused by species of ''[[Brueelia]]''. Several other species of lice have been described from barn swallow hosts, including ''Brueelia domestica'' and ''Philopterus microsomaticus''.<ref>{{cite book|author=Møller, A P|year=1991 |chapter= Parasites, sexual ornaments and mate choice in the Barn Swallow ''Hirundo rustica''|title=Bird-parasite interactions: Ecology, evolution, and behaviour|editor1=Loye, J E |editor2=Zuk, M |publisher=Oxford University Press|location = Oxford| pages=328–343}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|year=2008|url=http://www.zoologia.hu/list/Vas_et_al.pdf|title=The feather holes on the barn swallow ''Hirundo rustica'' and other small passerines are probably caused by ''Brueelia'' spp. lice|journal=Journal of Parasitology|volume=94|issue=6|pages=1438–1440|doi=10.1645/GE-1542.1|pmid=18576840|last1=Vas|first1=Z|last2=Csörgo|first2=T|last3=Møller|first3=A P|last4=Rózsa|first4=L|s2cid=6713948|issn=0022-3395|access-date=3 September 2009|archive-date=21 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721120159/http://www.zoologia.hu/list/Vas_et_al.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The avian lice prefer to feed on white tail spots, and they are generally found more numerously on short-tailed males, indicating the function of unbroken white tail spots as a measure of quality.<ref name="KoseMøller1999">{{cite journal|last1=Kose|first1=Mati|last2=Møller|first2=Anders Pape|s2cid=22196756|title=Sexual selection, feather breakage and parasites: the importance of white spots in the tail of the barn swallow (''Hirundo rustica'')|journal=Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology|volume=45|issue=6|year=1999|pages=430–436|issn=0340-5443|doi=10.1007/s002650050581|bibcode=1999BEcoS..45..430K }}</ref> In Texas, the swallow bug (''[[Oeciacus vicarius]]''), which is common on species such as the [[cliff swallow]], is also known to infest barn swallows.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=J. Vector Ecol.|year=2007|volume=32 |issue=2|pages=280–284|title= The incidence of American swallow bugs (''Oeciacus vicarius'') in barn swallow (''Hirundo rustica'') colonies in northeast Texas |vauthors=Kopachena JG, Cochran BL, Nichols TB |doi=10.3376/1081-1710(2007)32[280:TIOASB]2.0.CO;2|pmid=18260518|s2cid=24386134 |issn=1081-1710}}</ref>

Predatory bats such as the [[greater false vampire bat]] are known to prey on barn swallows.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Sugathan|first=R|year=1988|title=Movement of the Eastern Swallow (''Hirundo rustica gutturalis'') ringed at Mootpuzha, Kerala|journal=Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society|volume=85|issue=2|pages=428–429|url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/48804989|access-date=23 December 2017|archive-date=15 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200615051910/https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/48804989|url-status=live}}</ref> Swallows at their communal roosts attract predators and several falcon species make use of these opportunities. Falcon species confirmed as predators include the [[peregrine falcon]]<ref>{{cite journal|first=Yasuo |last=Ezaki|author2=Mizota, Hiromi |title=Wintering of a Peregrine Falcon on an electricity pylon and its food in a suburban area of western Japan|journal=Ornithological Science|volume=5|pages=211–216|year=2006|doi=10.2326/osj.5.211|issue=2}}</ref> and the [[African hobby]].<ref name=Bijlsma>{{cite journal|author1=Bijlsma R.G. |author2=van den Brink B. |name-list-style=amp |year=2005 |title=A Barn Swallow ''Hirundo rustica'' roost under attack: timing and risks in the presence of African Hobbies ''Falco cuvieri'' |journal=Ardea |volume=93 |issue=1 |pages=37–48 |url=http://ardeajournal.natuurinfo.nl/ardeapdf/a93-037-048.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081031130906/http://ardeajournal.natuurinfo.nl/ardeapdf/a93-037-048.pdf |archive-date=31 October 2008}}</ref> In Africa, tigerfish ''[[Hydrocynus vittatus]]'' have been recorded to routinely leap out of the water to capture low-flying swallows.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=O'Brien |first1=G. C. |last2=Jacobs |first2=F. |last3=Evans |first3=S. W. |last4=Smit |first4=N. J. |date=2014 |title=First observation of African tigerfish ''Hydrocynus vittatus'' predating on barn swallows ''Hirundo rustica'' in flight |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jfb.12278 |journal=Journal of Fish Biology |language=en |volume=84 |issue=1 |pages=263–266 |doi=10.1111/jfb.12278|pmid=24354922 |bibcode=2014JFBio..84..263O }}</ref>