Swallows · Summer visitor
Barn Swallow
Hirundo rustica
Common Hirundinidae 17–19 cm Low risk
A swallow with a glossy blue back, a rusty throat and long forked tail streamers. It feeds on the wing over fields and water, and announces summer when it returns to nest under the eaves.
At a glance
Family
Hirundinidae
Group
Swallows · Summer visitor
Size
17–19 cm
Conservation status
Low risk
Did you know
Barn swallows travel 10,000 kilometers to South Africa for winter, then return to the very same nest in summer.
Similar birds
All birds
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