Barn swallow: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the barn swallow lives – recorded in 169 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Hirundo rustica
Group	Songbirds & perching birds
Status	Least concern (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	169 countries
Continents	Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania, South America
Class	Bird
Order	Passeriformes
Family	Hirundinidae

Where does the barn swallow live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the barn swallow in 169 countries and territories across Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania and South America. Wikidata gives its range as: Nanling Mountains, People's Republic of China, Africa, Brazil, South America, Hefei, Oriximiná.

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

Is the barn swallow endangered?

The barn swallow’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Least concern” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the barn swallow?

The barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) is a bird in the order Passeriformes and the family Hirundinidae, genus Hirundo. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the barn swallow

The barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) is the most widespread species of swallow in the world, occurring on all continents, with vagrants reported even in Antarctica. It is a distinctive passerine bird with blue upperparts and a long, deeply forked tail. In Anglophone Europe, it is just called the swallow; in northern Europe, it is the only member of family Hirundinidae called a "swallow" rather than a "martin".

There are eight subspecies of barn swallow, which breed across the Northern Hemisphere. Two subspecies (H. r. savignii and H. r. transitiva) have fairly restricted ranges in the Nile valley and eastern Mediterranean, respectively. The other six are more widespread, with winter ranges covering much of the Southern Hemisphere.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Barn swallow (revision 1380253423), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q25429 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).