Hirundo rustica

Hirundo rustica

Family: Hirundinidae

Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) is a slender, long-winged swallow of open country, farms, wetlands, shorelines, and other areas where flying insects are abundant. Its deeply forked tail, pointed wings, warm underparts, and reddish throat distinguish it from the other swallows commonly encountered in Minnesota.

Barn Swallows spend much of their time in the air, often flying low over fields or water while pursuing insects. When perched, their compact body and folded wings can conceal much of the structure that becomes obvious in flight or during stretching and preening.

For representative photographs, see Barn Swallow in the Gallery section.

For photographic observations of wing structure, juvenile plumage, and changing posture on the perch, see Barn Swallow — Photographic Sequence.

Description

Hirundo rustica is recognized by:

Adult males generally have longer outer tail streamers than females, although the difference may be difficult to judge without direct comparison.

Juveniles resemble adults but usually appear softer and less strongly colored. They have shorter tail streamers, paler underparts, and may show a conspicuous yellow gape at the base of the bill.

Habitat and Range

Typical habitats include:

In Minnesota:

The species has adapted readily to human structures. The familiar mud nest is commonly attached beneath bridges, inside barns and sheds, under eaves, and on other sheltered vertical surfaces.

Identification

Key features for field diagnosis:

The combination of a rufous throat, warm underparts, and deeply forked tail is particularly useful when separating Barn Swallow from other Minnesota swallows.

In flight, the long outer tail feathers can make an adult unmistakable. Juveniles require more attention because the tail is shorter and the overall plumage is duller.

Juvenile Identification

Juvenile Barn Swallows can look substantially different from the long-tailed adults usually pictured in field guides.

Useful juvenile characteristics include:

These characters are useful in the current photographic sequence, where the yellow gape and relatively short tail are visible in several frames.

Behavior and Ecology

Barn Swallows are highly aerial insectivores.

Typical behavior includes:

Their short bill can appear surprisingly small when the bird is perched, but the mouth opens broadly to capture insects during flight.

Although a resting swallow often looks almost neckless, stretching or preening can reveal considerably more neck than the normal streamlined posture suggests. Raised wings and displaced contour feathers temporarily break apart the compact shape seen in an undisturbed perched bird.

Nesting

Barn Swallows construct an open cup nest primarily from pellets of mud mixed with grass or other plant material.

Typical nest sites include:

The nest is usually attached to a vertical surface with access to an open flight path.

Adults make repeated trips between wet mud sources and the nest site during construction. Both the nest location and nearby open feeding habitat can make Barn Swallows strongly associated with farms, parks, bridges, and waterfront structures.

Similar Species

Tree Swallow

Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) is one of the most useful comparisons.

Tree Swallow differs in having:

Both species have long pointed wings and spend much of their time catching insects in flight. Their perched posture can also be remarkably compact.

The wing-lift photographs of the two species show a similar effect: the neck that seems almost absent in the normal resting posture becomes much more visible when the bird stretches and the contour feathers are disturbed.

Cliff Swallow

Cliff Swallow differs by:

Its flight silhouette lacks the long forked tail characteristic of Barn Swallow.

Bank Swallow

Bank Swallow is:

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

Northern Rough-winged Swallow is:

Field Recognition

Barn Swallows are often easier to recognize by shape and movement than by color.

At a distance, watch for:

An adult’s tail streamers may remain visible even when plumage color cannot be resolved.

With a juvenile, the shorter tail makes the identification less immediate. The reddish or warm-toned face, buff underparts, pointed wings, and overall swallow structure become more important.

Notes

For the full photographic discussion, see Barn Swallow — Photographic Sequence.

References