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How to Tell the Difference between . . .

Swallows, Swifts and House Martins

One of the perennial problems at this time of year is figuring out whether the bird that just flew overhead at the speed of light was a swallow, a swift or a house martin. But fortunately, whilst these birds are all superficially similar, there are a range of differences between them that can make telling these three bird species apart reasonably simple, once you know what to look for.

Swallows

Swallows are most easily identified by their red chin and the longer feathers on either side of the tail, which stick out like streamers and make them easy to spot in flight.

Swifts

Swifts are one of the most amazing birds, barely ever coming to ground to rest except to nest and spending virtually their whole life on the wing. High pitched screeching and curved, sickle-shaped wings, together with a short tail, help to identify this species, which can often be seen on warm summer days performing acrobatics in the sky as they hunt for their insect prey.

House Martins

The house martin is probably the smallest of these three species and has a gently curved tail, unlike the squarer tail of the swift or the ‘streamers’ of the swallow. They are most easily identified, however, by their white rump, which can often be clearly seen even from some distance as these birds fly past.