Barn Swallow

Hirundo rustica

Summary 2

The Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) is the most widespread species of swallow in the world. It is a distinctive passerine bird with blue upperparts, a long, deeply forked tail and curved, pointed wings. It is found in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas. In Anglophone Europe it is just called the Swallow; in Northern Europe it is the only common species called a "swallow" rather than a "martin".
The preferred habitat of the Barn Swallow is open country with low vegetation, such as pasture, meadows and farmland, preferably with nearby water. This swallow avoids heavily wooded or precipitous areas and densely built-up locations. The presence of accessible open structures such as barns, stables, or culverts to provide nesting sites, and exposed locations such as wires, roof ridges or bare branches for perching, are also important in the bird's selection of its breeding range

ssp. saturata, Palawan. 3

Sources and Credits

  1. (c) Carmelo López Abad, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Carmelo López Abad
  2. Adapted by Carmelo López Abad from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hirundo_rustica
  3. (c) Carmelo López Abad, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

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