House Martin

The House Martin is a small, agile aerial insectivore closely related to swallows. Adults are glossy blue-black above with crisp white underparts and, most distinctively, a bright white rump that stands out clearly even in fast, distant flight. The tail is short and only shallowly forked, unlike the long streamers of the Barn Swallow.

House Martins are closely tied to human settlements, building distinctive enclosed mud nests with a small entrance hole tucked under the eaves of houses and other buildings.

Key field marks

• Glossy blue-black upperparts with a bold white rump patch
• Clean white underparts, including the throat (no dark breast band or throat patch)
• Short, shallowly forked tail without long streamers
• Flight often higher and more fluttering than swallows, with frequent gliding

Similar species

The Barn Swallow has a deeply forked tail with long streamers, a dark rufous throat, and lacks the white rump. Sand Martin is brown above (not glossy blue-black) with a brown breast band.

Range

Breeds across Europe, North Africa, and temperate Asia; winters in sub-Saharan Africa and parts of southern Asia.

Habitat

Strongly associated with human habitation, nesting on the outside of buildings in towns and villages, as well as natural cliff faces in some regions; forages over open country, farmland, water, and villages.

Migration

A long-distance migrant, departing breeding grounds in autumn for wintering areas in Africa, returning the following spring, often to the same nest site.

Behavior

Highly social, nesting in loose colonies of several to many pairs on suitable buildings, and often foraging and roosting in flocks, sometimes alongside swallows and martins.

Voice

A soft, twittering song and a distinctive dry "chirrp" or "prrit" call given in flight, especially around the nest colony.

Feeding

Catches flying insects on the wing, often foraging higher in the air than Barn Swallows, and gathers mud from puddles and pond edges for nest construction.

Nesting and breeding

Builds an enclosed, cup-shaped nest of mud pellets mixed with saliva, fixed under eaves or overhangs, with a small entrance hole near the top. Lays 4-5 white eggs and often raises two broods, with earlier young sometimes helping feed later broods.