Barn Swallow
Hirundo rustica
The Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) is a common swallow found in 214 countries, weighing about 18 g. The barn swallow is the most widespread species of swallow in the world, occurring on all continents, with vagrants reported even in Antarctica.
About the Barn Swallow
The barn swallow is the most widespread species of swallow in the world, occurring on all continents, with vagrants reported even in Antarctica. It is a distinctive passerine bird with blue upperparts and a long, deeply forked tail. In Anglophone Europe, it is just called the swallow; in northern Europe, it is the only member of family Hirundinidae called a "swallow" rather than a "martin".
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
The adult male barn swallow of the nominate subspecies H. r. rustica is 17–19 cm (6+1⁄2–7+1⁄2 in) long including 2–7 cm (1–3 in) of elongated outer tail feathers. It has a wingspan of 32–34.5 cm (12+1⁄2–13+1⁄2 in) and weighs 16–22 g (9⁄16–3⁄4 oz). It has steel blue upperparts and a rufous forehead, chin and throat, which are separated from the off-white underparts by a broad dark blue breast band. The outer tail feathers are elongated, giving the distinctive deeply forked "swallow tail". There is a line of white spots across the outer end of the upper tail. Voice: Males sing to defend small territories (when living in colonies, less so in solitary pairs) and to attract mates. Males sing throughout the breeding season, from late April into August in many parts of the range. Their song is made up of a "twitter warble," followed by a rising "P-syllable" in European H. r. rustica and the North American H. r. erythrogaster.
What the Barn Swallow sounds like
Where it lives
When to see it
Best months: April, May, June, July, August, September, with peak activity in May. It is a summer visitor species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Barn Swallow?
- The adult male barn swallow of the nominate subspecies H. r. rustica is 17–19 cm (6+1⁄2–7+1⁄2 in) long including 2–7 cm (1–3 in) of elongated outer tail feathers. Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Barn Swallow?
- The Barn Swallow is a small sized bird weighing about 18 g.
- Where can you see a Barn Swallow?
- The Barn Swallow occurs in 214 countries, including the United States, Canada, Sweden, France and Spain.
- What does a Barn Swallow sound like?
- You can listen to 3 field recordings of the Barn Swallow on this page, contributed to xeno-canto under open licences.
- What birds look similar to a Barn Swallow?
- The Barn Swallow is most easily confused with the Welcome Swallow, the Pacific Swallow and the Wire-tailed Swallow.
- Is the Barn Swallow endangered?
- The Barn Swallow is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Barn Swallow for real
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