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Barn swallow flying through a barn window

Swallow

Swallows are migratory and flock in large numbers in September ready to fly to Africa, south of the Sahara. In early April, they return to the UK often roosting communally in reed beds outside of the breeding season. Adult birds are similar in appearance although males have noticeably longer tail streamers. Swift and agile in flight, they are insectivorous, plucking insects from the air as they go. To rehydrate whilst flying they simply skim the surface of a body of water.

Did you know?
Barn swallows feed their young up to 400 times a day.

How to identify swifts, swallows and martins.

Scientific name: Hirundo rustica

Rank: Species

Common names:

Barn swallow

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Distribution

Map showing the distribution of the Swallow taxa

Species range provided by WWF's Wildfinder.

The Swallow can be found in a number of locations including: Africa, Asia, Australia, China, Europe, Indian subcontinent, Madagascar, Mediterranean, North America, Russia, South America, United Kingdom, Wales, Ynys-hir nature reserve. Find out more about these places and what else lives there.

Habitats

The following habitats are found across the Swallow distribution range. Find out more about these environments, what it takes to live there and what else inhabits them.

Behaviours

Discover what these behaviours are and how different plants and animals use them.

Additional data source: Animal Diversity Web

Conservation Status

Least Concern

  1. EX - Extinct
  2. EW
  3. CR - Threatened
  4. EN - Threatened
  5. VU - Threatened
  6. NT
  7. LC - Least concern

Year assessed: 2009

Classified by: IUCN 3.1

About

The Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) is the most widespread species of swallow in the world. It is a distinctive passerine bird with blue upperparts, a long, deeply forked tail and curved, pointed wings. It is found in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas. In Anglophone Europe it is just called the Swallow; in Northern Europe it is the only common species called a "swallow" rather than a "martin".

There are six subspecies of Barn Swallow, which breed across the Northern Hemisphere. Four are strongly migratory, and their wintering grounds cover much of the Southern Hemisphere as far south as central Argentina, the Cape Province of South Africa, and northern Australia. Its huge range means that the Barn Swallow is not endangered, although there may be local population declines due to specific threats.

The Barn Swallow is a bird of open country which normally uses man-made structures to breed and consequently has spread with human expansion. It builds a cup nest from mud pellets in barns or similar structures and feeds on insects caught in flight. This species lives in close association with humans, and its insect-eating habits mean that it is tolerated by man; this acceptance was reinforced in the past by superstitions regarding the bird and its nest. There are frequent cultural references to the Barn Swallow in literary and religious works due to both its living in close proximity to humans and its annual migration. The Barn Swallow is the national bird of Austria and Estonia.

Read more at Wikipedia

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Characters we've followed

  • Swallows nest The Pensthorpe Swallows

    In 2010 Springwatch followed a family of swallows nesting high up in the eaves of a barn at Pensthorpe.

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