Sand martin

The sand martin is a small migratory passerine bird in the swallow family Hirundinidae, also called the collared sand martin or common sand martin in Europe and the bank swallow in the Americas. Carl Linnaeus first described it in 1758 as Hirundo riparia, with the species name coming from the Latin ripa, meaning riverbank. It is a small bird, 12 to 13 centimeters long and weighing 11 to 16 grams, with a brown back, white underside and a narrow brown breast band that distinguish it from similar swallows in combination with its small size and quick jerky flight. The species breeds across nearly the whole Holarctic region, from Europe across Asia to the Pacific and throughout North America, and winters in eastern and southern Africa, southern Asia and South America. Three or four weakly differentiated subspecies are recognized. It is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN, though its populations are decreasing globally.