Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)

OTHER NAMES: Swallow, Common Swallow

Latin Etymology: Hirundo ("swallow") rustica ("rural")

Adult Barn Swallow (subspecies H. r. rustica) at Geddington, Northants - May 2013

Featured Subspecies: Hirundo rustica rustica
Weight: 16-22g  /  Length: 17-19cm  /  Wingspan: 32.34cm

UK AMBER LIST / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

A widely spread bird, the Swallow is almost certainly one of the easier species to see in the UK and they Summer right across Eurasia; I also saw this species feeding over rivers on my visit to Japan. In the Winter they migrate southwards, in the case of the UK birds, to Sub-Saharan Africa. Swallows are insectivores and next under eaves and in barns - they are perhaps not quite as common as the smaller sand martin, but their very forked tail, glossy blue coloration and red throat makes them easy to distinguish if you get a good view. As with other high speed aerial feeders - photographing them is substantially harder than seeing them - for a compact camera like mine, I would recommend manually focusing to the approximate height at which they are flying and then taking photos until you get them. Alternatively, just wait until you catch them landed - they often perch on wire fences or overhead cables.

Related Species: 
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Hirundinidae
Genus: Hirundo
Subspecies: H. r. rustica, H. r. transitiva, H. r. savignii, H. r. tytleri, H. r. gutturalis, H. r. mandschurica, H. r. erythrogaster

- Sighting Locations -

UNITED KINGDOM - A common Summer migrant (860,000 territories)

 - Birds seen at sites including Rutland Water, Trevose Head, Rainham Marshes, Elmley Marshes, and Geddington.

CAMBODIA  - Khmer name: ត្រចៀកកាំ

- A localised resident.

 - CAMBODIA/SINGAPORE 2019 TRIP: Common at Prek Toal

ITALY -  Italian - La Rondine Comune ("Common Swallow")

A common Summer migrant.

 - SICILY 2018 TRIP -  Very common throughout.

JAPAN - Japanese - ツバメ  /  Tsubame ("Swallow")
Fairly common Summer migrant.  Subspecies H. r. gutturalis.

 - KYOTO 2013 TRIP: Several seen at Arashiyama. 

SPAIN - Spanish - Golondrina común ("Common Swallow")

Scarce and Local Resident

 - MADRID 2016 TRIP: Seen flying over Laguna Navaseca.

UNITED STATES 
Found across the entire Lower 48 and Hawai'i
 - CALIFORNIA 2022 TRIP: Seen at Berkeley, San Francisco, San Jose etc

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto