Discussion

Swallows (Tsubame)

Swallows are small (sparrow-sized) singing birds found all around the world. Though not well identified in the source for this photo, this is probably a barn swallow.

A noteworthy feature of most but not all swallows is the extra long tail feathers on each side of their tails. They can be seen more clearly in flight.

hey look good no matter which side you see them from.

After a three year hiatus due to the pandemic, the city of San Juan Capistrano will resume its annual Swallows Day Parade this year. It will be held on Saturday, March 25.

For decades, swallows in San Juan Capistrano primarily nested in the mission, often reusing nests built in previous years. A mission refurbishment project in the 1990s caused the removal of all of the swallows nests. Since then, swallows have preferred to nest elsewhere around the city. The mission is trying to attract them back. Tourist money is a strong incentive.

Swallows build mud and grass nests from mud they gather at nearby pools. I watched swallows doing this at a pond decades ago on a day-trip to Cuyamaca Rancho State Park. They would take up a beak-full of mud, munch it a bit, probably to make sure it was the right texture and mixed well, then take off. They soon came back to get more.

This photo taken in Yellowstone National Park shows a swallow condominium in a natural environment.

Swallows don't always build nests like this. Sometimes they carve them out of sand banks. This photo was also taken in Yellowstone National Park.

Swallows don't have problems co-existing with people in human habitats. They take advantage of any covered space that suits them. This affords swallows protection from both the weather and predators.

oo frequently, swallows are seen as nuisances because of unsightly nests like this under house eaves.

Nests are for holding eggs. These are barn swallow eggs.

Tree swallows lay pinkish eggs that turn white after a few days.

Most swallow eggs take 14 to 18 days to hatch. From eggs in nests come baby birds that don't hesitate to inform their parents that they are hungry.

Swallows eat mostly insects, preferably caught in flight with a method called hawking.

Some species include fruit and other plant matter in their diet. A bolus of food is fed to insistent mouths.

Juveniles are encouraged to leave their nests after about three weeks, though they usually return for extended periods afterward and continue to be fed by their parents.

Swallows typically lay two or three clutches of eggs yearly when in their breeding grounds. Eventually, however, it is time to return to their winter quarters. Most swallows migrate, but there are a few species that stay in one place year round. The San Juan Capistrano cliff swallows migrate to Argentina. Barn swallows in Japan winter in Indonesia and Malaysia. Before taking off, they begin to gather in large groups.

Various terms for a group of swallows are a flight, a gulp, a swoop, a kettle, a herd, or a richness.

The chart below summarizes the typical life of swallows.

Bamboo (Take)

A Shikunshi Subject

Bamboo is one of the shikunshi (four gentlemen) painting subjects, comprised of orchid, bamboo, chrysanthemum, and plum. These are traditionally among the first subjects learned by beginning sumi-e artists because among them, all of the basic strokes are used. It is also said they are among the last mastered because of the great potential they have for subtle and sophisticated expression. The seasonal associations for the shikunshi subjects are:

Orchid: Spring 

Bamboo: Summer

Chrysanthemum: Fall

Plum: Winter 

Types of Bamboo

There are over a 1,000 species of bamboo around the world. A type of grass, bamboo grows rapidly; some species as much as 36 inches a day.

Most bamboo are not that large.

Bamboo leaves have different sizes depending on the species, and there are some variations in shape, too, but here is what bamboo leaves typically look like.

Artwork

Kitagawa Utamaro (1753 – 1806)

Utamaro was famous for his ukiyo-e of life behind the scenes in brothels, but he painted other subjects, too, and published books. One of his publications was the two-volume Momo Chidori Kyōka Awase (Myriad Birds: A Kyōka Competition) published in 1790. It was a poetry competition featuring playful kyōka (mad verse) love poems. Each page featured two birds with their corresponding poems. The page below contains this print of Swallows (Tsubame) and Green Phesant (Kiji). The poem associated with the swallows was written by Sakezuki no Komendo, and the pheasant poem was by Kiri Kitoha.

Katsushika Hokusai (1760 – 1849)

A great landscape painter, Hokusai also painted a large number of kachō-ga (birds and flowers pictures). This hydrangea and swollow ukiyo-e was published in 1832.

Utagawa Hiroshige (1797 – 1858)

Hiroshige's range of subjects was a lot narrower than Hokusai's, but he, too, painted subjects other than landscapes. This Swallows and Wisteria print was produced in the mid-1840s. 

Ohara Koson (1877 – 1945)

Koson was part of the shin-hanga movement to restore the popularity of hanga (woodblock prints) as well as traditional Japanese subjects, techniques, and values to Japanese art. His Swallows and Cherry Blossoms was produced in 1910).