Listen to the barn swallow
Tip: press play to see the sound's live frequency spectrum in blue over the waveform.
About the barn swallow
The barn swallow is a bird in the family Hirundinidae (order Passeriformes). Its conservation status on the IUCN Red List is “least concern”. Adults have a wingspan of about 32 cm.
What does the barn swallow sound like?
Most birds have two kinds of vocalisation: songs, which are learned or innate phrases delivered mainly in spring and summer, and calls – brief contact, alarm and begging notes heard all year round. Listening for both helps with identification.
The recordings here are labelled as call, flight call, alarm call and song. Listen for differences in rhythm, pitch and repetition – the spectrum display makes it easy to see whether a sound is a pure whistle (a thin line), a harsh call (a broad band) or a trill (rapid repeated marks).
From Wikipedia
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.
Related birds in the genus Hirundo
More from the family Hirundinidae
Sand martin
Riparia riparia
Western house martin
Delichon urbicum
Eurasian crag martin
Ptyonoprogne rupestris
Eastern red-rumped swallow
Cecropis daurica
Tree swallow
Tachycineta bicolor
Cliff swallow
Petrochelidon pyrrhonota
Purple martin
Progne subis
Lesser striped swallow
Cecropis abyssinica
Blue-and-white swallow
Pygochelidon cyanoleuca
Violet-green swallow
Tachycineta thalassina
White-banded swallow
Atticora fasciata
Frequently asked questions
What does a barn swallow sound like?
You can hear 6 recordings of the barn swallow on this page, including its call, flight call and alarm call. Most birds have two kinds of vocalisation: songs, which are learned or innate phrases delivered mainly in spring and summer, and calls – brief contact, alarm and begging notes heard all year round.
Is the barn swallow endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the barn swallow as “least concern”.
What family does the barn swallow belong to?
The barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) belongs to the family Hirundinidae in the order Passeriformes.
Sources & credits
- Hirundo rustica - Barn Swallow by Jonathon Jongsma – CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Flight call · Busturia S. Kristobal, Urdaibai, Spain by Borja Marcos – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Call · Méricourt, Yvelines, Île-de-France, France by Marie-Lan Taÿ Pamart – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Alarm call, call · Paslières, Puy-de-Dôme, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France by Marie-Lan Taÿ Pamart – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Call, flight call · Paslières, Puy-de-Dôme, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France by Marie-Lan Taÿ Pamart – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Song · Minnesota Valley NWR, Old Cedar Ave Bridge, Hennepin… by Jonathon Jongsma – CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Wikidata Q25429 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Barn swallow – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo by Morhaf Aljanee – CC BY-SA 3.0