Common House-Martin

Delichon urbicaOrder: PASSERIFORMESFamily: Swallows (Hirundinidae)

General

Common House-Martin: Small, summer migrant to Europe, Asia. Accidental to Alaska. Glossy blue-black upperparts contrast sharply with white-gray underparts. Mantle, crown, a metallic dark blue; wings, tail black-gray. Solid white rump. Legs covered in white down. Female has slightly grayer underparts; Juveniles duller, with brown crown, white areas tinged with gray.

Range and Habitat

Common House-Martin: Strongly migratory. Winters in tropical Africa; remains at breeding sites in Europe, Asia from April to October. Stray to Alaskan Bering Sea region. Found in varying open habitats, always near water, mud, and nesting sites. Often perches on utility cables.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"tseep, tseep, tseep", "prrrtt, prrrtt, prrrtt"

Interesting Facts

The Common House Martin was first described by Linnaeus in his Systema Naturae in 1758 as Hirundo urbica, but was placed in its current genus Delichon by Thomas Horsfield and Frederic Moore in 1854.
Delichon is an anagram of the Ancient Greek term chelidon, meaning 'swallow', and the species name urbicum (urbica until 2004, due to a misunderstanding of Latin grammar) means 'of the town' in Latin.
This species has greatly benefited from forest clearing, which create the open habitats it prefers, and from human habitation which have given it an abundance of safe man-made nest sites.
A group of martins has many collective nouns, including a "circlage", "flight", "gulp", "richness", and "swoop" of martins.

Author

Mary Beth Geisel Splitbar

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Common House-Martin

Common House-Martin: Small swallow, metallic dark blue mantle and crown; wings and tail are black-gray. Forked tail. Solid white rump distinguishes it from other swallows. Legs covered in white down. Flight is graceful, swift and direct on rapidly beating wings. It soars on wide triangular wings.

● Song: "tseep, tseep, tseep", "prrrtt, prrrtt, prrrtt"

● Foraging & Feeding: Common House-Martin: Flies for hours hunting insects. Prefers flies, aphids, beetles. Sometimes feeds while perched or clinging to vertical surfaces.

● Breeding & nesting: Common House-Martin: Builds cup-shaped nest from mud pellets, feathers, and other light materials on vertical surfaces beneath protective overhangs. Often colonial. May reuse nests. Up to three broods per season; four to six white eggs are incubated for 13 to 19 days by both parents.

● Similar species: Common House-Martin: Only species with white rump and lacks streamers. Bank Swallow has brown-gray upperparts. Northern Rough-winged Swallow is darker gray. Tree Swallow most similar; lacks white rump. Violet-green Swallow white on cheek and above eye. White-throated Needletail has stubby tail. Fork-tailed Swift has deeply-forked tail.

Flight Pattern

Soars for long periods. Swift, strong wingbeats. Dives, climbs, spirals, glides, stalls: a spectacular and nimble flier.

● Range & Habitat: Common House-Martin: Strongly migratory. Winters in tropical Africa; remains at breeding sites in Europe, Asia from April to October. Stray to Alaskan Bering Sea region. Found in varying open habitats, always near water, mud, and nesting sites. Often perches on utility cables.

^BreedingMonogamous, Colonial nester

^PopulationFairly common on breeding grounds, Casual to accidental in AK

^MigrationNeotropical Migrant

^Weight0.5 Ounces

Field Guide to Birds of North America