Barn Swallow
Hirundo rustica
Its reddish-brown forehead and throat and long tail streamers distinguish it from the house martin. It builds its open cup nest of mud and straw mostly inside stables on beams or walls, not outside under the eaves.
- Group
- Swallows & Swifts
- Photos
- 6
- Taken
- 2024–2025
Profile: Barn Swallow
- Family
- Swallows and martins (Hirundinidae)
- Size
- approx. 17–19 cm (including tail streamers)
- Wingspan
- approx. 32–34.5 cm
- Weight
- approx. 16–22 g
- Habitat
- Open farmland with livestock, pastures and water; breeds in stables, barns and other accessible buildings.
- Diet
- Flying insects such as flies, midges and beetles, often hunted low over the ground or water.
- When to see
- Long-distance migrant wintering in sub-Saharan Africa. Present in Central Europe from about April to September/October.
Learn more: Wikipedia · NABU (German)