Delichon is a small genus of passerinebirds that belongs to the swallow family and contains four species called house martins. These are chunky, bull-headed and short-tailed birds, blackish-blue above with a contrasting white rump, and with white or grey underparts. They have feathering on the toes and tarsi that is characteristic of this genus. The house martins are closely related to other swallows that build mud nests, particularly the Hirundo barn swallows. They breed only in Europe, Asia and the mountains of North Africa. Three species, the common, Siberian and Asian house martins, migrate south in winter, while the Nepal house martin is resident in the Himalayas year-round.
The house martins nest in colonies on cliffs or buildings, constructing feather- or grass-lined mud nests. The typical clutch is two or three white eggs; both parents build the nest, incubate the eggs and feed the chicks. These martins are aerial hunters of small insects such as flies and aphids. Despite their flying skills the Delichon martins are sometimes caught by fast-flying birds of prey. They may carry fleas or internal parasites. None of the species are considered threatened, although widespread reductions in common house martin numbers have been reported from central and northern Europe. This decline is due to factors including poor weather, poisoning by agricultural pesticides, lack of mud for nest building and competition with house sparrows for nest sites.
Taxonomy
The four Delichon species are members of the swallow family of birds, and are classed as members of the Hirundininae subfamily which comprises all swallows and martins except the very distinctive river martins. DNA studies suggest that there are three major groupings within the Hirundininae, broadly correlating with the type of nest built.[1] The groups are the "core martins" including burrowing species like the sand martin, the "nest-adopters", which are birds like the tree swallow that utilise natural cavities, and the "mud nest builders". The Delichon species construct a closed mud nest and therefore belong to the latter group; they appear to be intermediate between the Hirundo and Ptyonoprogne species that make open cup nests, and the Cecropis and Petrochelidon swallows, which have retort-like closed nests with an entrance tunnel.[2] The genetic evidence suggests a close relationship between Hirundo and Delichon, which is further supported by the frequency of interbreeding between two widespread species, the barn swallow and the common house martin, despite being their being in different genera.[3] The suggested taxonomic sequence of the mud-building swallows has been recommended by at least two European taxonomic committees.[4][5]
The genus Delichon was created by American naturalist Thomas Horsfield and British entomologistFrederic Moore in 1854 to accommodate the Nepal house martin that was first described by Moore in the same year, and is therefore the type species for the genus.[6][7] The two other house martins were moved to Delichon from the genus Chelidon in which they had been placed up to that time.[8] In 2021, the Siberian house martin was split from the common house martin based on morphological and vocal differences.[9][10] The name of the genus, "Delichon", is an anagram of the Ancient Greek term χελιδὡν/chelidôn, meaning swallow.[11]
Northwestern India through Nepal to Myanmar, northern Vietnam, and just into China
The common and Asian house martins have sometimes been considered to be a single species, although both breed in the western Himalayas without hybridising.[12] There is also limited DNA evidence that suggests a significant genetic distance between these two martins.[13]
Distribution and habitat
Delichon is an Old World genus with all four species breeding only in the Northern Hemisphere. The common house martin is a widespread migrant breeder across Europe, north Africa and all northern temperate Asia to Kamchatka. It winters in tropical Africa.[14] The Siberian house martin breeds in northeast Russia and winters in southern Asia. The Asian house martin breeds further south than the Siberian house martin in the mountains of central and eastern Asia; its nominate subspecies winters in Southeast Asia,[12] but the races breeding in the Himalayas and Taiwan may just move from the high mountains to lower altitudes.[15] The Nepal house martin is resident in the mountains of southern Asia.[12]
The preferred habitat of the common and Siberian house martins is open country with low vegetation, such as pasture, meadows and farmland, and preferably near water, although it is also found in mountains up to at least 2,200metres (7,200ft) altitude. As the name implies, they readily nest on man-made buildings, and will breed even in city centres if the air is clean enough.[14] The other two species favour mountainous country (and sea cliffs in the case of Asian house martin); they use buildings as nest sites less frequently than their northern relative.[16] The wintering grounds of the two migrant species include a range of open country and hilly habitats.[12]
Description
Common house martin illustration showing the feathered leg and toes; and the short wide bill
Delichon martins are 13–15cm (5–6in) long, blackish blue above with a contrasting white rump, and with white or grey underparts. They are chunky, bull-headed and short-tailed birds, and have feathering on the toes and tarsi.[17] The common house martin is the largest bird, with an average weight of 18.3g (0.65oz), and has the most deeply forked tail; the Nepalese species is the smallest (15g, 0.53oz) and has the squarest tail. Distinctive species plumage features are the black chin and black undertail coverts of the Nepal house martin, and the greyish wash to the underparts of the Asian house martin.[12] As with other swallows and martins, the moult is slow and protracted because of the need to maintain efficient flight at all times to enable feeding. Moult normally starts on arrival at the wintering grounds, but overlaps with the breeding season for the non-migratory Nepal house martin.[18]
The Delichon martins have simple flight calls of one to three notes. In the two more widespread species these have a distinctive buzzing quality. The male's song is a short simple ripple, perhaps less musical than that given by other swallows.[12][16]
As a group, the house martins cannot easily be confused with any other swallows. Four species of the genus Tachycineta have white rumps and underparts, but they have bright metallic green or blue-green upperparts, longer tails, and are restricted to Central and South America.[19] The variable plumages of the South Asian species and a confused taxonomic history has left their distribution ranges in doubt.[16]
Behaviour
Breeding
Asian house martin gathering nest material in Japan
The Delichon martins were originally cliff nesters, breeding in colonies situated under an overhang on a vertical cliff. However, the house martin now largely uses human structures, as, to a lesser extent, does the Asian house martin. The typical nest is a grass or feather-lined deep closed mud bowl with a small opening at the top,[12] but many Asian house martins leave the top of the nest open.[20][21][22]
David Winkler and Frederick Sheldon believe that evolutionary development in the mud-building swallows, and individual species follow this order of construction. A retort builder like red-rumped swallow starts with an open cup, closes it, and then builds the entrance tunnel. Winkler and Sheldon propose that the development of closed nests reduced competition between males for copulations with the females. Since mating occurs inside the nest, the difficulty of access means other males are excluded. This reduction in competition permits the dense breeding colonies typical of the Delichon martins.[2]
Common house martin egg (left) with barn swallow egg for comparison
The urban common house martin has to compete with house sparrows, which frequently attempt to take over the nest during construction, with the house martins rebuilding elsewhere if the sparrows are successful. The entrance at the top of the completed cup is so small that the sparrows cannot take over the nest once it is finished.[23]
As with other swallows, pairing and copulation displays are normally brief, taking just a few minutes.[18] The male calls to a female and attempts to lead her to the nest, where he lands and continues calling while posing with lowered head, dropped wings and ruffled throat. If he is successful, the female calls and allows him to mount her, usually in the nest. Three or four white eggs are the normal clutch and all three species are frequently double-brooded. Both sexes build the nest, incubate the eggs and feed the chicks, although the female does most of the incubation, which normally lasts 14–16 days. The newly hatched chicks are altricial, and after a further 22–32 days, depending on weather, the chicks leave the nest. The fledged young stay with, and are fed by, the parents for about a week after leaving the nest. Occasionally, young birds from the first brood will assist in feeding the second brood.[12]
A Scottish study showed that mortality in common house martins occurred mostly outside the breeding season and averaged 57%. Females that had raised two clutches in a season had a higher mortality than those that were single-brooded, but there was no such correlation for the males.[24]
Feeding
The Delichon species typically feed higher in the air, and take smaller prey than other swallows. It is believed that this reduces inter-specific food competition, particularly with the barn swallow which shares much of the breeding and wintering range of the martins.[23][25][26] The insects eaten are mostly small flies, aphids and Hymenoptera such as winged ants. A wide range of other insects are caught, including Lepidoptera, beetles and lacewings. The Asian house martin appears to occasionally take terrestrial springtails and larvae and the common house martin also sometimes feeds on the ground.[23] These martins are gregarious, feeding in flocks often with other aerial predators like swifts,[12] or other hirundines such as the barn or striated swallows.[27] In the case of at least the common house martin, the start of egg laying appears to be linked to the appearance of large numbers of flying aphids, which provide a stable and abundant food supply.[28]
Predators and parasites
The hobby is agile and fast enough to catch swallows and martins.
The main predators of the house martins are those birds of prey which are capable of catching these agile fliers, such as the hobby.[29] Birds of the Delichon species are most vulnerable when collecting mud from the ground. This has therefore become a communal activity, with a group of these birds descending suddenly on a patch of mud.[30] The usually insectivorous collared falconet has been recorded as hunting Nepal house martins.[31]
The house martins are parasitised by fleas and mites, including the "house martin flea", Ceratophyllus hirundinis and its relatives.[32][33] A Polish study of the common house martin showed that nests typically contained more than 29 species of ectoparasite, with C.hirundinis and another swallow specialist, Oeciacus hirundinis, the most abundant.[34] The genus also hosts endoparasites such as Haemoproteus prognei (avian malaria), which are transmitted by blood-sucking insects including mosquitoes.[35][36][37]
More than 40 beetle species have been recorded in common house martin nests, but most are either typical of the locality or found in the nests of other birds. The typical number of individuals, around 200, is relatively low compared to other bird species (1,400 individual beetles for house sparrow, 2,000 for sand martin). The beetles have no effect on the nesting birds, and the reason for their comparatively low numbers is unknown, although the numbers of specific parasites found in house martin's nests is also quite small.[38]
Conservation status
Nepal house martin
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is the organisation responsible for assessing the conservation status of species. A species is assessed as subject to varying levels of threat if it has a small, fragmented or declining range, or if the total population is less than 10,000 mature individuals, or if numbers have dropped rapidly (by more than 10% in ten years or three generations). None of the Delichon species meets these criteria, and all four house martins are therefore considered of least concern.[39][40][41][42]
The numbers of the two southern Asian species are unknown, but both can be locally abundant, and the Asian house martin is extending its range in southern Siberia.[12][40] The lowland breeding common house martin has greatly benefited from forest clearance, creating the open habitats it prefers, and from human habitation which has given it an abundance of safe man-made nest sites,[12] although widespread declines in its numbers have been reported from central and northern Europe since 1970.[43] This is due to factors including poor weather, poisoning by agricultural pesticides, lack of mud for nest building and competition with house sparrows for nest sites.[12] The formerly conspecific Siberian house martin is also declining. Despite this, the huge geographical range and large numbers of the two northern house martins mean that their global status is secure.[41][42]
1 2 Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (July 2021). "Swallows". IOC World Bird List Version 11.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
↑ Leader, P.; Carey, G.; Schweizer, M. (2021). "The identification, taxonomy and distribution of Western, Siberian and Asian House Martins". British Birds. 114: 72–96.
1 2 Snow, David; Perrins, Christopher M, eds. (1998). The Birds of the Western Palearctic concise edition (2 volumes). Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp.1066–1069. ISBN978-0-19-854099-1.
↑ "Yan Yan". Bird list (in Chinese). National Feng Huang Ku Bird Park. Archived from the original on 23 February 2011. Retrieved 28 December 2009
↑ Durnev, Yu A; Sirokhin I N; Sonin, V D (1983). "Materials to the ecology of Delichon dasypus (Passeriformes, Hirundinidae) on Khamar-Daban (South Baikal Territory)". Zoologicheskii Zhurnal (in Russian). 62 (10): 1541–1546.
1 2 3 Coward, Thomas Alfred (1930). The Birds of the British Isles and Their Eggs (two volumes). Vol.2 (Thirded.). Frederick Warne. pp.252–254.
↑ Bryant, D M (1979). "Reproductive costs in the House Martin (Delichon urbica)". Journal of Animal Ecology. 48 (2): 655–675. doi:10.2307/4185. JSTOR4185. Subscription required
↑ Shrestha, Tej Kumar (2001). Birds of Nepal: v. 2: Field Ecology, Natural History and Conservation. Steven Simpson Natural History Books. pp.346–347. ISBN978-0-9524390-9-7.
↑ Bryant, D M (1975). "Breeding biology of House Martins Delichon urbica in relation to aerial insect abundance". Ibis. 117 (2): 180–216. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919X.1975.tb04206.x.
↑ Lewis, Robert E (1971). "Descriptions of new fleas from Nepal, with notes on the genus Callopsylla Wagner, 1934 (Siphonaptera: Ceratophyllidae)". Journal of Parasitology. 57 (4): 761–771. doi:10.2307/3277793. JSTOR3277793. PMID5105961.
↑ Kaczmarek, S (1993). "Ectoparasites from nests of swallows Delichon urbica and Hirundo rustica collected in autumn". Wiad Parazytol (in Polish). 39 (4): 407–409. PMID8128730.
The barn swallow is the most widespread species of swallow in the world. It appears to have the largest natural distribution of any of the world's passerines, ranging over 251 million square kilometres globally. It is a distinctive passerine bird with blue upperparts and a long, deeply forked tail. It is found in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas. In Anglophone Europe it is just called the swallow; in northern Europe it is the only common species called a "swallow" rather than a "martin".
The western house martin, sometimes called the common house martin, northern house martin or, particularly in Europe, just house martin, is a migratory passerine bird of the swallow family which breeds in Europe, north Africa and across the Palearctic; and winters in sub-Saharan Africa and tropical Asia. It feeds on insects which are caught in flight, and it migrates to climates where flying insects are plentiful. It has a blue head and upperparts, white rump and pure white underparts, and is found in both open country and near human habitation. It is similar in appearance to the two other martin species of the genus Delichon, which are both endemic to eastern and southern Asia. It has two accepted subspecies.
The swallows, martins, and saw-wings, or Hirundinidae, are a family of passerine songbirds found around the world on all continents, including occasionally in Antarctica. Highly adapted to aerial feeding, they have a distinctive appearance. The term "swallow" is used colloquially in Europe as a synonym for the barn swallow. Around 90 species of Hirundinidae are known, divided into 19 genera, with the greatest diversity found in Africa, which is also thought to be where they evolved as hole-nesters. They also occur on a number of oceanic islands. A number of European and North American species are long-distance migrants; by contrast, the West and South African swallows are nonmigratory.
The Eurasian crag martin or just crag martin is a small passerine bird in the swallow family. It is about 14 cm (5.5 in) long with ash-brown upperparts and paler underparts, and a short, square tail that has distinctive white patches on most of its feathers. It breeds in the mountains of southern Europe, northwestern Africa and across the Palearctic. It can be confused with the three other species in its genus, but is larger with brighter tail spots and different plumage tone. Many European birds are resident, but some northern populations and most Asian breeders are migratory, wintering in northern Africa, the Middle East or India.
The red-rumped swallow is a small passerine bird in the swallow family. It breeds in open hilly country of temperate southern Europe and Asia from Portugal and Spain to Japan, India, Sri Lanka and tropical Africa. The Indian and African birds are resident, but European and other Asian birds are migratory. They winter in Africa or India and are vagrants to Christmas Island and northern Australia.
The cliff swallow or American cliff swallow is a member of the passerine bird family Hirundinidae, the swallows and martins. The generic name Petrochelidon is derived from the Ancient Greek petros meaning "stone" and khelidon (χεlidOn) "swallow", and the specific name pyrrhonota comes from purrhos meaning "flame-coloured" and -notos "-backed".
The mangrove swallow is a passerine bird in the swallow family that breeds in coastal regions from Mexico through Central America to Panama. It has blue-green upperparts, blackish flight feathers, a white rump, a black tail, and white underparts. It can be identified by the supraloral white streak, the white line near its eye, which only occurs in two other species of Tachycineta: the violet-green swallow and the white-rumped swallow. The sexes, although similar in plumage, differ slightly in size. The juveniles have grey-brown upperparts and white-washed underparts. This swallow's song is generally described as a soft trilling, with a rolled jeerrt call, and a sharp alarm note.
The dusky crag martin is a small passerine bird in the swallow family. It is about 13 cm (5 in) long with a broad body and wings, and a short square tail that has small white patches near the tips of most of its feathers. This martin has sooty-brown upperparts and slightly paler underparts. The two subspecies are resident breeding birds in South Asia from the Indian subcontinent to southwestern China and the northern parts of Thailand, Vietnam and Laos.
The rock martin is a small passerine bird in the swallow family that is resident in central and southern Africa. It breeds mainly in the mountains, but also at lower altitudes, especially in rocky areas and around towns, and, unlike most swallows, it is often found far from water. It is 12–15 cm (4.7–5.9 in) long, with mainly brown plumage, paler-toned on the upper breast and underwing coverts, and with white "windows" on the spread tail in flight. The sexes are similar in appearance, but juveniles have pale fringes to the upperparts and flight feathers. The former northern subspecies are smaller, paler, and whiter-throated than southern African forms, and are now usually split as a separate species, the pale crag martin. The rock martin hunts along cliff faces for flying insects using a slow flight with much gliding. Its call is a soft twitter.
The crag martins are four species of small passerine birds in the genus Ptyonoprogne of the swallow family. They are the Eurasian crag martin (P. rupestris), the pale crag martin (P. obsoleta), the rock martin (P. fuligula) and the dusky crag martin (P. concolor). They are closely related to each other, and have formerly sometimes been considered to be one species. They are closely related to the Hirundo barn swallows and are placed in that genus by some authorities. These are small swallows with brown upperparts, paler underparts without a breast band, and a square tail with white patches. They can be distinguished from each other on size, the colour shade of the upperparts and underparts, and minor plumage details like throat colour. They resemble the sand martin, but are darker below, and lack a breast band.
The Nepal house martin is a non-migratory passerine of the swallow family Hirundinidae. Its two subspecies breed in the Himalayas from northwestern India through Nepal to Myanmar, northern Vietnam, and just into China. It occurs in river valleys and rugged wooded mountain ridges at heights between 1,000–4,000 m (3,300–13,100 ft) altitude, where it nests in colonies beneath overhangs on vertical cliffs, laying three or four white eggs in an enclosed mud nest.
The Asian house martin is a migratory passerine bird of the swallow family Hirundinidae. It has mainly blue-black upperparts, other than its white rump, and has pale grey underparts. Its three subspecies breed in the Himalayas and in central and eastern Asia, and spend the winter lower in the mountains or in Southeast Asia. This species is locally abundant and is expanding northward in Siberia, so there are no concerns about its conservation status.
The African river martin is a passerine bird, one of two members of the river martin subfamily of the swallow family, Hirundinidae. When discovered, it was not initially recognised as a swallow, and its structural differences from most of its relatives, including its stout bill and robust legs and feet, have led to its current placement in a separate subfamily shared only with the Asian white-eyed river martin. The African river martin is a large swallow, mainly black with a blue-green gloss to the head and a greener tint to the back and wings. The under-wings are brownish, the underparts are purple-black, and the flight feathers are black. This martin has red eyes, a broad orange-red bill and a black, square tail. Young birds are similar in appearance to the adults, but have browner plumage. This species has a variety of unmusical calls, and displays both in flight and on the ground, although the purpose of the terrestrial display is unknown.
The tree martin is a member of the swallow family of passerine birds. It breeds in Australia, mostly south of latitude 20°S and on Timor island. It is migratory, wintering through most of Australia, New Guinea, Indonesia east of the Wallace Line and the Solomon Islands. It is a vagrant to New Zealand, where it has bred, and New Caledonia. This species is frequently placed in the genus Hirundo as Hirundo nigricans.
The pied-winged swallow is a species of bird in the family Hirundinidae. It has distinctive steel-blue upperparts with white wing patches. It is native to parts of West Africa.
The pale crag martin is a small passerine bird in the swallow family that is resident in Northern Africa and in Southwestern Asia, east to Pakistan. It breeds mainly in the mountains, but also at lower altitudes, especially in rocky areas and around towns. Unlike most swallows, it is often found far from water. It is 12–13 cm long, with mainly brown plumage, paler-toned on the upper breast and underwing coverts, and with white "windows" on the spread tail in flight. The sexes are similar in appearance, but juveniles have pale fringes to the upperparts and flight feathers. It was formerly considered to be the northern subspecies of the rock martin of southern Africa, although it is smaller, paler, and whiter-throated than that species. The pale crag martin hunts along cliff faces for flying insects using a slow flight with much gliding. Its call is a soft twitter.
The Mascarene martin or Mascarene swallow is a passerine bird in the swallow family that breeds in Madagascar and in the Mascarene Islands. The nominate subspecies occurs on Mauritius and Réunion and has never been found away from the Mascarene Islands, but the smaller Madagascan subspecies, P. b. madagascariensis, is migratory and has been recorded wintering in East Africa or wandering to other Indian Ocean islands.
Brazza's martin is a passerine bird in the swallow family, Hirundinidae. It is 12 centimeters (4.7 in) long with grey-brown upperparts, heavily black-streaked white underparts, and a brownish tint to the breast plumage. The sexes are similar, but juvenile birds have more diffuse breast streaking and reddish-brown edges to the feathers of the back and wings. The song consists of a series of short notes of increasing frequency, followed by a complex buzz that is sometimes completed by a number of clicks.
Cecropis is a genus of large swallows found in Africa and tropical Asia. The red-rumped swallow's range also extends into southern Europe, and into Australia. This genus is frequently subsumed into the larger genus Hirundo.
The Siberian house martin or eastern house martin is a passerine bird in the swallow family Hirundinidae. It breeds in rocky areas of northeastern Russia, Mongolia and northern China and winters in Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia. It was formerly considered conspecific with the western house martin.
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