The barn swallow is a small, fast-flying songbird with one of the widest natural breeding distributions of any bird species, nesting across much of the Northern Hemisphere and migrating to spend the winter in South America, Africa, southern Asia and Australia. It has glossy blue-black upperparts, a rusty throat and forehead, and a deeply forked tail, and it is a highly aerial feeder, catching flying insects on the wing with remarkable agility, often skimming low over fields, water and open ground. True to its name, the species readily nests in and around human structures, building open cup nests of mud pellets mixed with grass on beams, ledges and under eaves of barns and other buildings, a habit that has made it one of the most familiar birds associated with rural life across much of its range. Barn swallows are strongly migratory, undertaking journeys of many thousands of kilometres between breeding and wintering grounds twice a year. The species remains common and widespread overall, though some regional populations have declined with the loss of traditional farm buildings and changes in insect abundance.
Facts
Classification
System (Realm) Relationship to People Living or ExtinctDerived from this species' own Conservation Status: this atlas's IUCN category list has no Extinct value, so a set conservation-status is itself evidence of living status. Scientific Name Conservation Status Population Estimate Body Size Band Activity Pattern Identification
Distinguishing AppearanceSteel blue upperparts, a rufous forehead, chin and throat separated from off-white underparts by a broad dark blue breast band, and elongated outer tail feathers forming a deeply forked tail. 1 Comparison
NatureServe Rank CITES Appendix Connections
Child Taxon Of
In Biome
Source Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Hirundo rustica
In the Other Atlases
Found In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
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Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Sources
1. Barn Swallow (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationIntroduction, opening sentence
The barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) is the most widespread species of swallow in the world, occurring on all continents, with vagrants reported even in Antarctica.
Description section, plumage paragraph
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".
Status section, second sentence
The species is evaluated as least concern on the 2019 IUCN Red List, and has no special status under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which regulates international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants.
Status section, opening sentence
The barn swallow has an enormous range, with an estimated global extent of about 250,000,000 km2 (97,000,000 sq mi) and a population of 190 million individuals.
View the Source 2. EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014)
3. GBIF Species API
4. Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Hirundo rustica
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of ZoologyKey Behaviors
Key Behaviors troglophilic flies diurnal diurnal motile motile migratory migratory territorial territorial colonial colonial Range territory size 4 to 8 m^2
Conservation Status: CITES
CITES No special status
Economic Importance for Humans
Negative Impacts causes or carries domestic animal disease causes or carries domestic animal disease
In Biome: Chaparral, Habitat Regions, biome: chaparral
chaparral chaparral
View the Source 5. NatureServe Explorer: Hirundo rustica
NatureServe ExplorerGlobal rank (roundedGRank)Quote, Global rank (roundedGRank)
"roundedGRank": "G5"
6. Human Ageing Genomic Resources, University of Liverpool: AnAge entry for Hirundo rustica
Human Ageing Genomic Resources, University of LiverpoolLifespan, ageing, and relevant traits
Maximum longevity 16 years
Life history traits (averages): Adult weight
Adult weight 18.3 g
View the Source Wikidata: Barn Swallow
Catalogue of Life
Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of LifeChild Taxon Of: HirundinidaeView the Source Reader Challenges (0)
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