Editing Barn swallow (section)

== Taxonomy ==
The barn swallow was described by [[Carl Linnaeus]] in his 1758 [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'']] as ''Hirundo rustica'', characterised as "''H. rectricibus, exceptis duabus intermediis, macula alba notatîs''".<ref>{{cite book |last=Linnaeus |first=Carolus |author-link=Carl Linnaeus |title=Systema naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata. |publisher=Holmiae. (Laurentii Salvii). |year=1758 |page=191 |language=la |title-link=Systema Naturae}}</ref> ''Hirundo'' is the [[Latin]] word for "swallow"; ''rusticus'' means "of the country".<ref name=name>{{cite book|author=Lewis, Charlton T |title=A Latin dictionary for schools|year=1888|publisher=Harper & Brothers|url=https://archive.org/details/latindictionaryf00lewiuoft|isbn=978-0-19-910204-4}}</ref> This species is the only one of that genus to have a range extending into the Americas, with the majority of ''Hirundo'' species being native to Africa. This genus of blue-backed swallows is sometimes called the "barn swallows".<ref name="GillAndWright">See Gill, Frank, and Wright, Minturn, ''[[Birds of the World: Recommended English Names]]'' (Princeton 2006), {{ISBN|978-0-691-12827-6}}</ref><ref name=Turner/>

The ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'' dates the English [[common name]] "barn swallow" to 1851,<ref name=OED>{{Cite OED |Barn }}</ref> though an earlier instance of the [[collocation]] in an English-language context is in Gilbert White's popular book ''[[The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne|The Natural History of Selborne]]'', originally published in 1789:
<blockquote>
The swallow, though called the chimney-swallow, by no means builds altogether in chimnies {{sic}}, but often within barns and out-houses against the rafters&nbsp;... In ''Sweden'' she builds in barns, and is called ''ladusvala'', the barn-swallow.<ref name= white>{{cite book |last=White |first=Gilbert |author-link=Gilbert White|title=The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne |year=1789 |location=London |publisher=T. Bensley |pages=[https://archive.org/details/naturalhistorya04whitgoog/page/n185 167]–68 |isbn=978-0-905418-96-4|title-link=The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne }}</ref>
</blockquote>
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This suggests that the English name may be a [[calque]] on the Swedish term.

There are few [[Taxonomy (biology)|taxonomic]] problems within the genus, but the [[red-chested swallow]]—a resident of West Africa, the [[Congo Basin]], and [[Ethiopia]]—was formerly treated as a subspecies of barn swallow. The red-chested swallow is slightly smaller than its migratory relative, has a narrower blue breast-band, and (in the adult) has shorter tail streamers. In [[bird flight|flight]], it looks paler underneath than barn swallow.<ref name= Barlow>{{cite book |title=A Field Guide to birds of The Gambia and Senegal |last=Barlow |first=Clive |author2=Wacher, Tim|author3= Disley, Tony |location=Robertsbridge |publisher=Pica Press |year=1997 |isbn=978-1-873403-32-7}} p279</ref>

=== Subspecies ===
[[File:NML-VZ T2057 Chelidon rustica transitiva.jpg|thumb|Holotype of ''Chelidon rustica'' ''transitiva'' Hartert (NML-VZ T2057) held at World Museum, National Museums Liverpool|alt=See caption]]
[[File:Barn Swallow - Hirundo rustica.ogv|thumb|A European Barn Swallow pauses to rest on a fence post beside a freshwater lake on [[Lindisfarne]].]]

Six subspecies of barn swallow are generally recognised. In eastern Asia, a number of additional or alternative forms have been proposed, including ''saturata'' by [[Robert Ridgway]] in 1883,<ref name=ssp>{{cite journal |last=Dickinson |first=Edward C. |author-link=Edward C. Dickinson |author2=Eck, Siegfried |author3=Christopher M. Milensky |year=2002 |title=Systematic notes on Asian birds. 31. Eastern races of the barn swallow ''Hirundo rustica'' Linnaeus, 1758 |journal=Zoologische Verhandelingen, Leiden |volume=340 |pages=201–203 |issn=0024-1652 |url=http://www.repository.naturalis.nl/document/46729 |access-date=24 November 2007 |archive-date=24 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724012737/http://www.repository.naturalis.nl/document/46729 |url-status=live }}</ref> ''kamtschatica'' by [[Benedykt Dybowski]] in 1883,<ref name=Dickinson/> ''ambigua'' by [[Erwin Stresemann]]<ref>{{cite journal|author= Stresemann, E |year=1940| title= Welche Rasse von ''Hirundo rustica'' bretet in Sikkim? | journal= Ornithologischen Monatsbericht |volume=48|issue=3|pages=88–89|language=de}}</ref> and ''mandschurica'' by [[Wilhelm Meise]] in 1934.<ref name= ssp/> Given the uncertainties over the validity of these forms,<ref name=Dickinson>{{cite journal |last=Dickinson |first=Edward C. |author2=René Dekker |year=2001 |title=Systematic notes on Asian birds. 13. A preliminary review of the Hirundinidae |journal=[[Zoologische Verhandelingen, Leiden]] |volume=335 |pages=127–144 |issn=0024-1652 |url=http://www.repository.naturalis.nl/document/46434 |access-date=17 November 2007 |archive-date=24 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724012756/http://www.repository.naturalis.nl/document/46434 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Notes on some Asiatic swallows|author=Vaurie, Charles|journal=American Museum Novitates|issue=1529|year=1951|pages=1–47|hdl=2246/3915}}</ref> this article follows the treatment of Turner and Rose.<ref name=Turner/>
* ''H. r. rustica'', the nominate European subspecies, breeds in Europe and Asia, as far north as the [[Arctic Circle]], south to North Africa, the Middle East and [[Sikkim]], and east to the [[Yenisei River]]. It migrates on a broad front to winter in Africa, [[Arabia]], and the [[Indian subcontinent]].<ref name=Turner/> The barn swallows wintering in southern Africa are from across Eurasia to at least 91°E,<ref name=safring>{{cite web |title=European Swallow ''Hirundo rustica'' |work=SAFRING results |url=http://safring.adu.org.za/search_public.php?type=species&spp=493 |publisher=Avian Demography Unit, Department of Statistical Sciences, University of Cape Town |access-date=1 December 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160402115400/http://safring.adu.org.za/search_public.php?type=species&spp=493 |archive-date=2 April 2016}}</ref> and have been recorded as covering up to {{convert|11660|km|mi|abbr=on}} on their annual migration.<ref name =euring2>{{cite web |title= Bird ringing across the world |work= EURING Newsletter&nbsp;— Volume 1, November 1996 |url= http://www.euring.org/about_euring/newsletter1/ringing_across_world.htm |publisher=Euring |access-date=1 December 2007 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071203210454/http://www.euring.org/about_euring/newsletter1/ringing_across_world.htm |archive-date= 3 December 2007 |url-status= live}}</ref> The nominate European subspecies was the first to have its genome sequenced and published.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Formenti, Giulio |year=2018 |title= SMRT long reads and Direct Label and Stain optical maps allow the generation of a high-quality genome assembly for the European barn swallow (''Hirundo rustica rustica'') |journal= GigaScience |volume=8 |issue=1 |doi= 10.1093/gigascience/giy142 |pmid=30496513 |pmc=6324554 }}</ref>
* ''H. r. transitiva'' was described by [[Ernst Hartert]] in 1910. It breeds in the Middle East from southern Turkey to Israel and is partially resident, though some birds winter in East Africa. It has orange-red underparts and a broken breast band.<ref name=Turner/> The [[holotype]] of ''Chelidon rustica transitiva'' Hartert ([https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14030619 Vog. pal. Fauna, Heft 6, 1910. p. 802]), an adult female, is held in the vertebrate zoology collection of [[National Museums Liverpool]] at [[World Museum]], with accession number NML-VZ T2057.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Vertebrate Zoology|url=https://www.gbif.org/grscicoll/collection/225db9c9-16a8-47d4-a1a2-6940bb4a2da5|access-date=2021-12-01|website=www.gbif.org|language=en|archive-date=1 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211201235036/https://www.gbif.org/grscicoll/collection/225db9c9-16a8-47d4-a1a2-6940bb4a2da5|url-status=live}}</ref> The specimen was collected in the Plains of Esdraclon, [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]] on 16 December 1863 by [[Henry Baker Tristram]]. The specimen came to the Liverpool national collection through the purchase of Canon [[Henry Baker Tristram]]'s collection by the museum in 1896.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=R. Wagstaffe|url=http://archive.org/details/type-specimens-of-birds-in-the-merseyside-county-museums-wagstaffe|title=Type Specimens of Birds in the Merseyside County Museums (formerly City of Liverpool Museums)|date=1978-12-01}}</ref>
* ''H. r. savignii'', the resident [[Egypt]]ian subspecies, was described by [[James Francis Stephens|James Stephens]] in 1817 and named for French [[zoology|zoologist]] [[Marie Jules César Savigny]].<ref name= Decker>{{cite journal |last=Dekker |first=René |year=2003 |title=Type specimens of birds. Part 2. |journal=NNM Technical Bulletin |volume=6 |page=20 |url=http://www.repository.naturalis.nl/document/43413 |access-date=24 November 2007 |archive-date=1 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181001062912/http://www.repository.naturalis.nl/document/43413 |url-status=live }}</ref> It resembles ''transitiva'', which also has orange-red underparts, but ''savignii'' has a complete broad breast band and deeper red hue to the underparts.<ref name = Mullarney/>
* ''H. r. gutturalis'', described by [[Giovanni Antonio Scopoli]] in 1786,<ref name= ssp/> has whitish underparts and a broken breast band. The breast is chestnut and the lower underparts more pink-buff.<ref name=rasmussen>{{cite book|author=Rasmussen, Pamela C.|author-link=Rasmussen, Pamela C.|author2=John C. Anderton|author2-link=John C. Anderton|year=2005|title=Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide|publisher=Smithsonian Institution and Lynx Edicions|isbn=978-84-87334-67-2|title-link=Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide}}</ref> The populations that breed in the central and eastern Himalayas have been included in this subspecies,<ref>{{cite journal|author=Whistler, H |year=1937| title= The breeding Swallow of the Western Himalayas|journal= Ibis |volume=79|issue=2|pages=413–415|doi=10.1111/j.1474-919X.1937.tb02182.x}}</ref> although the primary breeding range is Japan and Korea. The east Asian breeders winter across tropical Asia from India and Sri Lanka<ref>{{cite journal|author= Whistler, H |year=1940| title= The Common Swallow ''Hirundo rustica rustica'' in Ceylon|journal= Ibis|volume=82| issue=3|page=539|doi=10.1111/j.1474-919X.1940.tb01671.x}}</ref> east to Indonesia and [[New Guinea]]. Increasing numbers are wintering in Australia. It hybridises with ''H. r. tytleri'' in the [[Amur River]] area. It is thought that the two eastern Asia forms were once geographically separate, but the nest sites provided by expanding human habitation allowed the ranges to overlap.<ref name=Turner/> ''H. r. gutturalis'' is a vagrant to [[Alaska]] and [[Washington (state)|Washington]],<ref name=Sibley>{{cite book |last = Sibley |first = David |title = The North American Bird Guide |year = 2000 |publisher = Pica Press |isbn= 978-1-873403-98-3}}</ref> but is easily distinguished from the North American breeding subspecies, ''H. r. erythrogaster'', by the latter's reddish underparts.<ref name=Turner/>
* ''H. r. tytleri'', first described by [[Thomas C. Jerdon|Thomas Jerdon]] in 1864, and named for British soldier, naturalist and photographer [[Robert Christopher Tytler]],<ref name=ssp/> has deep orange-red underparts and an incomplete breast band. The tail is also longer.<ref name=rasmussen/> It breeds in central [[Siberia]] south to northern Mongolia and winters from eastern [[Bengal]] east to Thailand and Malaysia.<ref name=Turner/>
* ''H. r. erythrogaster'', the North American subspecies described by [[Pieter Boddaert]] in 1783,<ref name= ssp/> differs from the European subspecies in having redder underparts and a narrower, often incomplete, blue breast band. It breeds throughout North America, from [[Alaska]] to southern Mexico, and migrates to the [[Lesser Antilles]], Costa Rica, Panama and South America to winter.<ref name=Hilty>{{cite book |last = Hilty |first = Steven L |title = Birds of Venezuela |publisher = Christopher Helm |year = 2003 |location = London |isbn = 978-0-7136-6418-8}} p691</ref> A few may winter in the southernmost parts of the breeding range. This subspecies funnels through Central America on a narrow front and is therefore abundant on passage in the lowlands of both coasts.<ref name=Stiles>{{cite book |last = Stiles |first = Gary |author2=Skutch, Alexander |title = A guide to the Birds of Costa Rica |location=Ithaca, New York |publisher = Cornell University Press |year = 2003 |isbn = 978-0-8014-2287-4}} p343</ref> Since the 1980s, small numbers of this subspecies have been found nesting in Argentina.<ref name=Torres/>[[File:BarnSwallow cajay.jpg|thumb|right|''H. r. erythrogaster'' resting on a twig in Washington State, US]]

The short wings, red belly and incomplete breast band of ''H. r. tytleri'' are also found in ''H. r. erythrogaster'', and [[DNA]] analyses show that barn swallows from North America colonised the [[Lake Baikal|Baikal]] region of Siberia, a dispersal direction opposite to that for most changes in distribution between North America and Eurasia.<ref name = zinkpavlova>{{cite journal |last1=Zink |first1=Robert M |last2= Pavlova|first2=Alexandra|last3=Rohwer |first3= Sievert|last4 =Drovetski|first4= Sergei V|year= 2006 |title=Barn swallows before barns: population histories and intercontinental colonization |journal= Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences|volume=273 |issue=1591 |pages=1245–1251 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2005.3414  |pmid=16720398 |pmc=1560278}}</ref>