Common House Martin
Delichon urbicum
Bysvalen er med sine 12,5 centimeter og 16-25 gram næsten lige så lille som digesvalen. Den minder med sin blåsorte farve på hoved, ryg og vinger mere om landsvalen.
Small, steel-blue martin of about 12.5 cm with pure white underparts — the underwings too — and an obvious white that shows in flight. Legs and toes are white and feathered.
Can be confused with
- Barn Swallow — Barn Swallow lacks the white rump, has darker underparts and a long, deeply forked tail with streamers; the House Martin is shorter-tailed, pure white below and white-rumped.
- Sand Martin — Sand Martin is earth-brown above with no white rump and lacks the House Martin’s pure white underparts; its legs are not white-feathered either.
Plumage and variation
Male and female: Sexes alike.
Juvenile: Juvenile is sooty black rather than blue-black, with white tips and edgings on the wing coverts and flight feathers.
Voice
The song is a soft twitter of melodious chirps; the contact call a hard "chirrrp", the alarm a shrill "tseep".
Behaviour
Hawks insects at an average of about 20 m over open ground and water, with faster wingbeats than the Barn Swallow. Breeds colonially, building a closed convex mud cup below a ledge; gathers in flocks after fledging.
When and where
A migrant arriving around 5 May and leaving in September–October for winter quarters south of the Sahara. Breeds mostly on buildings, but also naturally on the cliffs at Møn and Stevns and on Bornholm.
Facts
Wingspan
29 cm
Conservation status
ikke truet
Relatives
Family
swallows and martins
Hirundinidae
Order
passerines
Passeriformes
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