Compact swallow with pointed, broad pointed wings, a small head, and a squared tail. In good light, adults have metallic, dark-blue backs and pale, cinnamon rumps. Their face is rusty with a white forehead.
Juveniles look like messy adults with rusty or brown faces and a dingy breast.
Builds nests made of mud, which they cement to the walls of cliff ledges, under bridges, eaves, and culverts.
Compact swallow with a small head and squared tail. In flight note, pale rump patch and collar.
Juveniles in flight also show the pale rump patch with variable amounts of rusty coloring on the face.
Adults are dark blue above, but appear black in poor light. Key identification features include the pale rump and forehead and rusty cheeks.
Click on an image to compare
These compact swallows have rounded, broad-based wings, a small head, and a medium-length, squared tail.
Smaller than a Purple Martin; slightly larger than a Bank Swallow.
sparrow-sized or smallerMost Cliff Swallows in North America have whitish foreheads; however, birds from the Mexican population (which extends into the southwest U.S.) have dark chestnut foreheads.
Need Bird ID Help? Try Merlin
The Cornell Lab will send you updates about birds, birding, and opportunities to help bird conservation.
