Scientific name: Riparia riparia (Linnaeus, 1758)
Bird group: Swallows
Field characters. 12 cm. Smallest swallow, easily identified by white underparts with brown breastband, white throat, dark underwings and much shallow forked tail. Smaller than Barn Swallow with much shallower forked tail; separable from House Martin by lack of white rump and by brown upperparts, not shiny black and bluish. Flight weaker than Barn Swallow. Often in large flocks, especially near colonies, but also seen in singles during migration. Outside breeding season, roosts in flocks on electricity wires, branches, etc.
Voice. Call 'drrr' or 'chrrt', drier and more buzzing than call of House Martin. Song chittering and buzzing, like a series of calls.
Distribution. Summer visitor. Widespread and common, but decreasing in many parts of region due to habitat destruction.
Habitat. Breeds in self-constructed holes in sandy and loamy river banks and on other places with vertical banks like gravel pits. Usually avoids mountainous areas.
Food. Invertebrates, taken on wing only. Feeds in lower airspace.