Northern Rough-winged Swallow

The Northern Rough-winged Swallow is a plain, uniformly brown swallow found across most of North America wherever open water and bare earthen banks occur together. Compared to other North American swallows, it is notably unadorned: brown above, with a pale grayish-brown throat and breast that fades gradually into a whitish belly, without a sharp breast band.

The species gets its name from tiny hooked barbs on the outer edge of the outermost primary feather, visible only in the hand, that give the wing a rough texture — the function of this feature is not fully understood.

Key field marks

• Plain brown upperparts, no iridescent sheen
• Dingy pale brownish-gray throat blending smoothly into a whitish belly (no sharp contrast)
• Squared or only slightly notched tail
• Broad-based wings and a somewhat heavier-headed look than other small swallows

Similar species

Bank Swallow has a crisp, well-defined brown breast band contrasting with a white throat and belly, unlike the smoothly graduated tones of Rough-winged Swallow. Tree Swallow shows a glossy blue-green back and sharply white underparts. Rough-winged Swallow's overall drab, unmarked plainness is its best clue.

Habitat

Found near open water — rivers, streams, ponds, and lakes — wherever there are earthen banks, road cuts, gravel pits, or man-made structures such as culverts and drainpipes that provide burrow sites.

Range

Breeds across most of the United States, southern Canada, and Mexico. A migratory species, it winters from the southernmost U.S. through Mexico and Central America.

Behavior

Unlike the highly colonial Bank Swallow, Northern Rough-winged Swallows nest singly or in loose, small groups, often reusing burrows made by other animals such as kingfishers or rodents, or nesting in artificial cavities like drainpipes and culverts.

Voice

Calls are a series of low, buzzy, unmusical notes, less crisp than the calls of Bank or Tree Swallow; the species lacks a distinct song.

Feeding and nesting

Feeds on flying insects captured over water and open ground, typically foraging lower and more solitarily than other swallow species. Nests in a burrow (often self-dug into a soft dirt bank, or taken over from another species) lined with a simple mat of grass and, unlike Bank Swallow, generally does not nest in dense colonies.