Barn Swallow

Hirundo rustica

Order: Passeriformes
Family: Hirundinidae
Presence in the Strait: Seasonal
Abundance: abundant
Protection in Spain: Special protection (List)
In Spanish: Golondrina común

Photograph: Donald Davesne, CC BY, vía iNaturalist

Length: 19–22 cm
Weight: 19 g

Presence in the Strait

Abundant summer visitor to suburban areas.

Identification

It can be distinguished from swifts and martins by its even more agile flight and its long, forked tail with white spots. Red throat and forehead as well as a black bib. Juveniles are paler than adults and have shorter outer tail feathers. Unlike a House Martin, builds a half cup nest of mud in a sheltered position.

Movements

Migration throughout the whole year, it may begin in January and last until June when postnuptial migration begins; some birds are even observed as late as the end of December. Peaks in 1st hf. March and 2nd hf. September.

Ring recoveries

United Kingdom (7), Belgium (2), France (1) and Ghana (1).

Bioestrecho editorial text. Last revised: 8 September 2026.

Photographs from iNaturalist observations with the licence checked file by file. Those marked “Strait” were taken within the area; place and date are those of each observation.

Calendar in the Strait

23 %

Peak in September. Observations under CC0 or CC BY licences. The distribution also reflects observation effort.

Where it is seen

Open records from the atlas database, in cells of about 3.6 km. Opacity follows the square root of the count, and also reflects where people observe most.

See on the map

First open record: 1 October 1915
Latest record: 23 July 2026

The oldest and the most recent open observation in the extended area. A recent first observation does not mean the species is new: it means nobody had published it openly before.

Conservation

The catalogues, Andalusian and Spanish, are what binds; the Red Book assesses the Spanish population with IUCN criteria, and the global Red List is the context.

LCNTVUENCR

Andalusian Catalogue: Special protection (List)
Spanish Catalogue: Special protection (List)
Red Book of the Birds of Spain 2021: VU · Vulnerable · breeding
Global Red List (IUCN): LC · Least concern

Andalusian Catalogue: Junta de Andalucía, list of 24 April 2025. Spanish Catalogue: MITECO, table of 30 June 2025. Red Book: SEO/BirdLife, 2021 (Annex I). IUCN: via GBIF, 6 September 2026. Red Book and IUCN categories are assessments; catalogue categories are legal obligations.

Phenology compared

Monthly distribution in proportion, by decade. It shows whether the passage is getting earlier or later.

1990–1999

2000–2009

2010–2026

Proportions, not totals: observation effort grew faster than any population.

Where they come from

11 birds ringed in other countries and recovered in the area.

United Kingdom7
Belgium2
France1
Ghana1

See the journey on the map

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Hirundinidae
GBIF taxon key: 9515886

Sources

Distribution and calendar: Bioestrecho's own database, ingested from GBIF and OBIS
Photograph: Donald Davesne, CC BY, vía iNaturalist
Taxonomy: GBIF backbone, pending WoRMS for marine taxa
Editorial text: written by Bioestrecho
Last revised: 8 September 2026

Barn Swallow

Presence in the Strait

Identification

Movements

Ring recoveries

Gallery