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Barn Swallow Was the Most Frequent Bird-Strike Species Identified at Hangzhou Airport

Barn swallow in flight
Conservation · Human–wildlife conflict

Researchers at Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport in eastern China identified the barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) as one of the airport’s high-risk bird-strike species. The study linked field observations and identified collision remains with information about the birds’ food supply.

Barn swallow was the most frequently identified species in the strike samples

The team combined year-round bird counts from 2023 with 114 bird-strike samples collected between June 2022 and May 2024. Barn swallow was the most frequently identified species in the collision material, accounting for nine of the 114 samples. It was also the most numerous migratory bird in surveys during May, June and July. The study also compared the number of recorded strikes with the species’ monitored abundance at the airport, reinforcing that barn swallows were among the species of concern there.

Diptera made up 76.6% of the animal diet

DNA metabarcoding — sequencing short genetic markers from mixed gut contents to identify many food groups at once — was applied to intestinal contents from eight barn swallows collected in March and April 2024. Diptera made up 76.6% of the animal diet. Hemiptera accounted for 9%, Lepidoptera 8.4% and Coleoptera 5.8%. Diptera were also the most abundant insect order in the airport surveys, increasing from March and peaking in June.

The authors identify spring migration, particularly April, as the main risk period. Because many Diptera develop in decaying organic matter, they recommend enhanced sanitation within 500 m of operational areas, including daily waste removal, weekly drainage inspections and immediate removal of animal carcasses. They also propose vegetation management aimed at reducing insect-rich food resources that attract birds to the airport.

The study notes that sweep-net sampling is less effective for insects with low activity levels. Plecoptera DNA occurred in the birds’ diets even though the group was absent from the airport insect surveys, suggesting that some prey may have come from outside the surveyed area. The authors call for future monitoring that measures how the proposed management actions affect bird activity and collision risk.

Sources and image credit

  1. Ying, Y., Zhong, G., Chen, L., Lv, M., Qin, S., Zhou, X., Lv, H., & He, K. (2026). Ecological management of bird strike risk in Hangzhou Airport, based on field survey and diet analysis. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 14, 1720758. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2026.1720758Primary peer-reviewed open-access study published 18 March 2026 under CC BY 4.0. Year-round bird monitoring, 114 bird-strike samples and diet sequencing identified Barn Swallow as the most frequently represented strike species (9 samples; 7.89%) with an estimated strike rate of 0.378%; Diptera made up 76.60% of the animal diet.

Image: Charles J. Sharp / Wikimedia Commons — barn swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis) in flight in Xindian, New Taipei City, Taiwan, 14 March 2026. Illustrative photograph, not a bird from the Hangzhou study. CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

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