Barn Swallow
Photo: Andreas Trepte · CC BY-SA 2.5

Swallows

Barn Swallow

Hirundo rustica

LCLeast Concern
Family
Swallows (Hirundinidae)
Order
Passeriformes

Overview

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. 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".
There are eight subspecies of barn swallow, which breed across the Northern Hemisphere.

Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Range and habitat

Countries

Sources and further reading

Last updated September 29, 2026.