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The project andorin aims to create a partners network that contribute to the study and preservation of the swallows, martins and swifts of Portugal. This project seeks to raise community awareness, provide information and practical tools for the conservation of these birds.

 

Swallows, martins and swifts are extraordinary birds, with long wings and forked tails, perfectly adapted to hunt insects in flight. Although they belong to very distinct taxonomic groups, they have relatively similar behaviours and often become identical and difficult to distinguish to a less keen eye.

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These birds are essential to our well-being, since they feed exclusively on invertebrates and therefore have a great capacity to control populations of various species, some of them quite harmful to agriculture or capable of transmitting diseases, as is the case of mosquitoes.

 

Still, swallows, martins and swifts populations are in decline! Changes in agricultural practices, which have reduced the abundance of insects on which they feed; the mismanagement of many buildings, which leads to the destruction of their nests; or climate change, which alters the annual food availability, are some of the reasons why these birds are becoming less and less common.