AI overview
The Barn Swallow is a small migratory bird found across the Northern Hemisphere that is known for its streamlined body, forked tail, and swift, graceful flight. It matters because it plays an important ecological role by feeding on flying insects and serves as an indicator of environmental health, while also holding cultural significance in many regions where it nests near human settlements.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- taxon
- Parent taxon
- Hirundo
- Award
- Bird of the Year
- Image
- Hirundo-rustica-001.jpg
Show 6 more facts
- P105
- species
- P141
- Least Concern
- P9714
- Oriximiná
- P9566
- diurnality
- P13478
- Hirundo
Article
The barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) is the most widespread species of swallow in the world, occurring on all continents, with vagrants reported even in Antarctica. It is a distinctive passerine bird with blue upperparts and a long, deeply forked tail. In Anglophone Europe, it is just called the swallow; in northern Europe, it is the only member of family Hirundinidae called a "swallow" rather than a "martin".
There are eight subspecies of barn swallow, which breed across the Northern Hemisphere. Two subspecies (H. r. savignii and H. r. transitiva) have fairly restricted ranges in the Nile valley and eastern Mediterranean, respectively. The other six are more widespread, with winter ranges covering much of the Southern Hemisphere.
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Categories
Animal taxa named by Carl LinnaeusBirds described in 1758Birds of the Dominican RepublicBirds of the United StatesCosmopolitan wintering birdsHirundoHolarctic birdsIUCN Red List least concern speciesLeast concern biota of the United StatesNational symbols of AustriaNational symbols of EstoniaSwallows