Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus)

OTHER NAMES: N/A

Latin Etymology: Delichon (anagram of genus Chelidon) dasypus ("hairy footed")

 Adult Asian House Martin (subspecies D. d. dasypus) at Arashiyama, Japan - July 2013

Featured Subspecies: Delichon dasypus dasypus
Weight: 15-18g  /  Length: 13cm  /  Wingspan: ?
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern 

As the name suggests, the Asian House Martin is very similar to it's European equivalent in both form and habit. As with our local species, it is a Summer migrant, and thus we only encountered them on our original Kyoto/Osaka trip.  Unfortunately, as with any hirundine in flight, photographing them is very difficult and this was made more difficult by a mechanical problem with my camera at the time, meaning this terrible shot is the only one I managed.  Hopefully, a future trip will remedy that.

Related Species:
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Hirundinidae
Genus: Delichon
Subspecies: D. d. dasypus, D. d. cashmiriensis

- Sighting Locations -

JAPAN - Japanese - イワツバメ  /  Iwa-tsubame ("Rock Swallow")

A common Summer migrant.

 - KYOTO/OSAKA 2013 TRIP: A common bird in Kyoto, Arashiyama and Osaka

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

Sand Martin (Riparia riparia)

OTHER NAMES: European Sand Martin, Collared Sand Martin, Bank Swallow,
Latin Etymology: Riparia ("bank nesting") riparia ("bank nesting")

Adult Sand Martin (subspecies R. r. riparia) in Happisburgh, Norfolk - April 2024

Featured Subspecies: Riparia riparia riparia
Weight: 13-14g  /  Length: 12cm  /  Wingspan: 26-29cm
UK AMBER LIST / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

The Sand Martin is the least numerous of the UK's three members of it's family - this is probably in part in that it has the most complex habitat requirements, unlike swallows and house martins it requires requires banks and cliffs to dig its nest tunnels into. It however can be seen at decent sized bodies of water quite easily, and as far as this project is concerned, the hardest thing about them was to photograph - as with both swallow and house martin the fact that they are small and high speed fliers means that using the auto-focus on my camera isn't an option, therefore, a fixed focus length and just taking photographs til on is a bit legible proved the only option - unless of course you were to get to a place where you could easily view their nests.

Related Species:
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Hirunididae
Genus: Riparia
Subspecies: R. r. riparia, R. r. ijimae, R. r. shelleyi, R. r. eilata, R. r. innominata

- Sighting Locations -

UNITED KINGDOM - A common but local breeding migrant (54,000-174,000 nests)

 - A breeding colony Keswick and seen at various other sites like Rutland and Summerleys 

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

Common House Martin (Delichon urbicum)

OTHER NAMES: House Martin, Martlet

Latin Etymology: Delichon (anagram of genus Chelidon) urbicum ("urban")

Three adult Common House Martin (subspecies D. u. urbicum) at Geddington, Northants -  September 2012

Featured Subspecies: Delichon urbicum urbicum
Weight: 18g  /  Length: 13cm  /  Wingspan: 26-29cm
UK AMBER LIST / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

The second most common of it's family, the House Martin gets its name from the fact it frequently makes its nest under the eaves of houses. While very common in villages, it probably is less so in more built up areas where there are less areas nearby to feed from. It can be differentiated from the Sand Martin by the white patch behind its wings on its back, and the fact it is black rather than dark brown. As with martins, swifts and swallows, seeing them shouldn't really be too much of an issue, but unless perched it'll require a bit of skill with focusing.

Related Species: 
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Hirundinidae
Genus: Delichon
Subspecies: D. u. urbicum, D. u. meridionale, D. u. lagopodum  

- Sighting Locations -

UNITED KINGDOM - Common Summer migrant (510,000 pairs)

 - Seen at sites including Rutland Water, Trevose Head, Rainham Marshes and Geddington.

ITALY - Italian - Balestruccio

A common Summer migrant.

 - SICILY 2018 TRIP -  Common throughout.

SPAIN - Spanish - Avión común ("Common Martin")

Scarce and Local Resident

 - MADRID 2015 TRIP: Fairly common in Central Madrid.

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