Common House-Martin

Delichon urbicaOrder: PASSERIFORMES Family: Swallows (Hirundinidae)

Codes: Common Name: COHM Scientific Name: DELURB ITIS Taxonomic No.: 178445

Breeding Location:

Mudflats, Rocky cliffs, Urban

Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Colonial nester

Breeding Population:

Fairly common on breeding grounds, Casual to accidental in AK

Egg Color:

White

Number of Eggs:

2 - 8

Incubation Days:

13 - 19

Egg Incubator:

Both sexes

Nest Material:

Mud pellets, feathers, down, dried grasses, other fibers and lightweight materials

Migration:

Neotropical Migrant

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.

Breeding and 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.

Foraging and Feeding

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

Vocalization

Common House-Martin: Song a nearly constant, fluid, chattering twitter with hissing or buzzing notes: "tseep, tseep, tseep." Call, a plaintive, chirping "prrrtt, prrrtt, prrrtt."

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.

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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

Underparts

Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

Crown

The crown is the top part of the birds head.

Mantle

The upper surface of the back and wings covered with shorter feathers.

Rump

The area between the uppertail coverts and the back of the bird.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America