Barn swallow

    Hirundo rustica

Castilian: Golondrina común

Catalan: Oreneta vulgar

Gallego: Andoriña

Euskera: Enara arrunta

CLASIFICACIÓN:

Orden: Passeriformes

Family: Hirundinidae

Migratory status: Summer resident

CONSERVATION STATUS:

On the National List of Threatened Species, it appears in the “Of Special Interest” category. In the 2004 edition of the Red Book of Spanish Birds (Libro Rojo de las Aves de España) it is listed as “Not Evaluated”.

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THREATS

It is not threatened, but it is affected by the use of pesticides against the ants that this bird eats, as well as the elimination of the bird's nests by people citing the “dirtiness” that they create as an excuse.

Length / size: 18 cm / 33 cm

Identification: Aerodynamic bird with very short legs and bill. Black with metallic blue streaks on its back, cream coloured on its underparts; its forehead and throat are red, its collar is black, its wings are long and pointed, its front part is white underneath, and its tail is black and forked with white ovals that are visible when the tail, which is longer in males, is extended. It is an agile and acrobatic flier and is found in the lower strati, lower than martins and swifts.

Song: Very singsong, with a musical and accelerated song made up of linked warbling sounds with a characteristic "veet-veet-veet-prrr" ending.

Diet: It especially feeds on flies and mosquitos, but it also hunts flying ants, wasps, bugs and small beetles, which it captures near its nest in acrobatic flights at low altitudes.

Reproduction: The breeding period varies depending on the region: in the north, it begins in May, and in the south, in March. It is a monogamous species, although it is not rare for a male to breed with two females simultaneously; it nests alone or in small colonies, and it is loyal to the breeding site and to its made. Both build the nest using balls of mud in the shape of an open cup, which is stuck to a wall and under a covering; the nests are repaired and reused for several years. The eggs are incubated by the female and the chicks are fed by both parents. The length of the male's tail as a sexual feature should be noted: the longer it is, the sooner it finds a mate and the more chicks it breeds.

HABITAT

During breeding season it occupies rural and urban structures, such as stables, porches, patios and terraces; during migration it prefers wetlands, especially coastal ones. It usually breeds up to an elevation of 1,600 metres.

DISTRIBUTION

In Spain: During breeding season and migratory passage, it is distributed throughout the entire peninsula, the Balearic Islands, Ceuta and Melilla; some specimens winter in the south, in the low part of the River Guadalquivir.

In Castile and León: It is distributed throughout the entire community.

Movements and migrations: The Iberian populations winter in the Gulf of Guinea and return gradually, with a different of up to three months between north and south, with the males arriving first.

POPULATION

In Spain: There is an estimated population of more than a million breeding pairs.

In Castile and León: