Editing Swallow (section)

{{short description|Family of songbirds}}
{{About|the family of birds|the action|Swallowing|other uses|}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| name = Swallow
| fossil_range = {{fossil range|23|0|[[Early Miocene]] to present}}
| image = Pied-winged swallow (Hirundo leucosoma).jpg
| image_caption = [[Pied-winged swallow]] ''Hirundo leucosoma''
| taxon = Hirundinidae
| authority = [[Constantine Samuel Rafinesque|Rafinesque]], 1815
| subdivision_ranks = Genera
| subdivision = 21, see text
}}

The '''swallows''', '''martins''', and '''saw-wings''', or '''Hirundinidae''' are a family of [[passerine]] [[songbird]]s 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 as the common name for ''[[barn swallow|Hirundo rustica]]'' in the [[UK]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/swallow|title=Swallow Bird Facts|website=RSPB|access-date=8 May 2024}}</ref> and [[Ireland]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://birdwatchireland.ie/birds/swallow/|title=Swallow|website=Birdwatch Ireland|access-date=8 May 2024}}</ref> Around 90 species of [[Hirundinidae]] are known, divided into 21 [[genus|genera]], with the greatest diversity found in Africa, which is also thought to be where they evolved as hole-nesters.<ref name="Handbook">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0diG7y7Kk54C&pg=PA12 |page=12 |title=A Handbook to the Swallows and Martins of the World |author1=Angela Turner |author2=Chris Rose |publisher=A&C Black |year=2010|isbn=9781408131725 }}</ref> They also occur on a number of oceanic islands. A number of European and North American species are long-distance [[bird migration|migrants]]; by contrast, the West and South African swallows are nonmigratory.

This family comprises two subfamilies: '''[[Pseudochelidoninae]]''' (the [[river martin]]s of the genus ''Pseudochelidon'') and '''Hirundininae''' (all other swallows, martins, and saw-wings). In the Old World, the name "martin" tends to be used for the squarer-tailed species, and the name "swallow" for the more fork-tailed species; however, this distinction does not represent a real evolutionary separation.<ref name = Turner>{{cite book | last = Turner | first = Angela |author2=Rose, Chris  | title = Swallows and martins: an identification guide and handbook | year = 1989 | publisher = Houghton-Mifflin | isbn = 978-0-395-51174-9 | title-link = Helm identification guides }}</ref> In the New World, "martin" is reserved for members of the genus ''[[Progne]]''. (These two systems are responsible for the same species being called [[sand martin]] in the Old World and bank swallow in the New World.)