House martinDelichon urbicum — habitat, diet and reproduction

House martin with a glossy blue-black back and white underparts beside a mud nest

House martin (Delichon urbicum) at its mud nest. · MPF / CC BY 2.5 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5). Cropped and resized.

The house martin is a small bird, glossy blue-black above and white below, with a white rump that shows well in flight. It builds its nest from mud pellets stuck under the eaves of houses and apartment blocks. It hunts insects flying over villages and towns.

Quick facts

Common name	House martin
Scientific name	Delichon urbicum
Lifespan	Usually 2–3 years in the wild
Length	About 13 cm
Weight	About 15–23 g
Diet	Insectivore: small insects caught in flight
Predators	Hobbies and sparrowhawks
Conservation status	Least Concern (LC), globally
Distribution	Breeds in Europe, North Africa and Asia; winters in Africa
Habitat	Villages, towns, cliffs, near water and grassland
Family	Hirundinidae
Nest	Closed mud cup under eaves

Primary category:Birds
Explore this animal's categories:
Animals of Africa Animals of Asia Animals of Europe Animals of Romania Animals of Romania’s gardens and parks Animals that live in groups Birds Birds of Romania Black-and-white animals Egg-laying animals Feathered animals Flying animals H Insect-eating animals Migratory animals Migratory birds Vertebrates Wild animals

Interesting facts

A house martin nest can contain around a thousand mud pellets.
Its legs and toes are covered with white feathers.
House martins often nest in colonies, with dozens of nests side by side.
House sparrows sometimes take over martin nests before the martins return from Africa.

Characteristics

The house martin is smaller and stockier than the barn swallow. Its head and back are glossy blue-black, while the throat, underparts and rump are white.

The tail is short and forked, without long streamers. White feathers cover the legs like socks. Males and females look alike.

Behaviour

It is a social bird that lives and feeds in groups. It flies higher than the swallow and glides more.

Martins land on the ground only to collect mud at puddle edges. Before migrating in autumn, they gather in large flocks on wires and roofs alongside swallows.

Habitat and distribution

The species breeds across almost all of Europe, North Africa and temperate Asia and winters in Africa south of the Sahara.

In Romania it arrives in April and leaves in September. It nests in villages and towns on houses, blocks, bridges and stables, and on cliffs, its original habitat.

Diet and feeding

Its food is small insects caught in flight: flies, midges, aphids and flying ants.

In fine weather it hunts high up; in cold weather it drops over water and grassland, where insects fly lower. Long rainy spells can cause chicks to starve.

Reproduction and life cycle

The pair builds the nest from mud pellets mixed with saliva, carried one at a time. It is a closed cup with a small entrance at the top and can take one to two weeks to build.

The female usually lays 4–5 white eggs, incubated by both parents for about two weeks. Chicks stay in the nest for about a month, and pairs usually raise two broods per summer.

Name and history

The scientific name Delichon urbicum roughly means “town swallow”. “Delichon” is an anagram of the Greek “chelidon”, swallow.

In many Romanian villages, a martin or swallow nest under the eaves was seen as a sign of good luck for the house.

Conservation and threats

The species is assessed globally as Least Concern, but numbers have declined in Europe.

Main causes include nest destruction during facade renovation, lack of mud in paved settlements and fewer insects. Artificial nests and a small muddy puddle in spring help. Destroying occupied nests is illegal.