Editing Barn swallow (section)

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{{short description|Migratory passerine bird, and the most widespread species of swallow }}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Featured article}}
{{Speciesbox
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2019 |title=''Hirundo rustica'' |volume=2019 |page=e.T22712252A137668645 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T22712252A137668645.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref>
| image = Rauchschwalbe Hirundo rustica.jpg
| image_caption = in [[Tönning]], [[Germany]]
| image2 = Barn Swallow - Hirundo Rustica - John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.webm
| image2_caption = H. rustica calling in [[Philadelphia]].
| genus = Hirundo
| species = rustica
| authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]]
| range_map = HirundoRusticaIUCN.svg
| range_map_caption = Range of ''H. rustica'' {{leftlegend|#00FF00|Breeding|outline=gray}} {{leftlegend|#008000|Resident|outline=gray}} {{leftlegend|#00FFFF|Passage|outline=gray}} {{leftlegend|#007FFF|Non-breeding|outline=gray}}
| synonyms = * ''Hirundo erythrogaster'' {{small|(Boddaert,&nbsp;1783)}}
| subdivision_ranks = Subspecies
| subdivision = 6, see [[#Subspecies|text]]
}}

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.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last1=Scordato |first1=Elizabeth S.C. |last2=Safran |first2=Rebecca J. |date=2014 |title=Geographic variation in sexual selection and implications for speciation in the Barn Swallow |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/273134031 |journal=Avian Research |volume=5 |doi=10.1186/s40657-014-0008-4|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Kaufman |first=Ken |date=2017 |title=The Barn Swallow Is Slowly Conquering the World |url=https://www.audubon.org/news/the-barn-swallow-slowly-conquering-world |access-date=12 March 2024 |website=Audubon}}</ref> It is a distinctive passerine bird with blue upperparts and a long, deeply forked tail. In [[English-speaking world|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 (bird)|martin]]".

There are six subspecies of barn swallow, which breed across the Northern Hemisphere.<ref name=":1" /> Two subspecies, (''H. r. savignii and H. r. transitiva'') have fairly restricted ranges in the Nile valley and eastern Mediterranean, respectively.<ref name=":1" /> The other four are more widespread, with winter ranges covering much of the Southern Hemisphere.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=del Hoyo |first1=J. |title=Handbook of the Birds of the World: Alive |last2=Elliott |first2=A. |date=2014 |publisher=Lynx Edicions |location=Spain |chapter=Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)}}</ref>

The barn swallow is a bird of open country that normally nests in man-made structures and consequently has spread with human expansion. It builds a cup [[bird nest|nest]] from mud pellets in barns or similar structures and feeds on insects caught in flight.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Barn Swallow {{!}} Audubon Field Guide |url=https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/barn-swallow |access-date=2024-03-13 |website=www.audubon.org |language=en}}</ref> This species lives in close association with humans, and its insect-eating habits mean that it is tolerated by humans; this acceptance was reinforced in the past by superstitions regarding the bird and its nest. There are frequent cultural references to the barn swallow in literary and religious works due to both its living in close proximity to humans and its annual migration. The barn swallow is the [[list of national birds|national bird]] of [[Austria]] and [[Estonia]].