CreatureData

Blue swallow

Hirundo atrocaerulea Sundevall, 1850

ENEndangeredsongbirds

The blue swallow (Hirundo atrocaerulea) is a species in the family Hirundinidae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh 13.8 g to 13.9 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Endangered.

Blue swallow (Hirundo atrocaerulea)
Photo: Richard Bowdler Sharpe · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the blue swallow

Weight
13.8 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Invertivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
grasslandsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
2.4src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Aerialsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Migratorysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Endangered (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the blue swallow live?

Not recorded

What is the blue swallow?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The blue swallow (Hirundo atrocaerulea) is a small bird within the swallow family which is in the order Passeriformes. Swallows are somewhat similar in habits and appearance to other aerial insectivores, such as the martins (also a passerine) and the swifts (order Apodiformes). It breeds in the Afromontane (from South Africa to Tanzania), wintering north of Lake Victoria.

This bird breeds in montane grassland, preferring high rainfall, undulating areas. In winter it prefers open grassland, with bushes and trees. The nest is usually attached to the roof or side of a hole in the ground.

From the Wikipedia article “Blue swallow” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Blue_swallow&oldid=1380728832), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the blue swallow endangered?

The blue swallow is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List: it faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Endangered species.

How is the blue swallow classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderPasseriformes
  5. familyHirundinidae
  6. genusHirundo
  7. SpeciesHirundo atrocaerulea Sundevall, 1850

Synonyms Hirundo atrocaerulea atrocaerulea, Hirundo atrocaerulea lynesi, Hirundo christyi, Natalornis atrocaerulea

Other names and names in other languages (37)
  • BLSWEnglish
  • Montane blue swallowEnglish
  • BlouswaelAfrikaans
  • سنونو أزرقArabic
  • oreneta blavaCatalan
  • vlaštovka modráCzech
  • gwennol lasWelsh
  • BlåsvaleDanish
  • StahlschwalbeGerman
  • blua hirundoEsperanto
  • Golondrina azulSpanish
  • Ida-sinipääsukeEstonian
  • SinipääsukeEstonian
  • sinipääsuke (ida-sinipääsuke)Estonian
  • چلچله آبیرنگPersian
  • sinihaarapääskyFinnish
  • Hirondelle bleueFrench
  • gorska lastavicaCroatian
  • kék fecskeHungarian
  • Rondine bluItalian
  • クロハリオツバメJapanese
  • juosvoji šelmeninė kregždėLithuanian
  • Симсӹ цӹгӓкWestern Mari
  • Blauwe ZwaluwDutch
  • jaskółka długosternaPolish
  • andorinha-azulPortuguese
  • Rândunică albastrăRomanian
  • Голубая ласточкаRussian
  • Атласная ласточкаRussian
  • Голубая настоящая ласточкаRussian
  • Голубая (настоящая) ласточкаRussian
  • lastovička modráSlovak
  • blåsvalaSwedish
  • Mavi KırlangıçTurkish
  • ластівка довгохвостаUkrainian
  • 蓝燕Chinese
  • 藍燕Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the blue swallow

Other species in the same genus Hirundo.

CompareBlue swallow vs Barn swallowBlue swallow vs Wire-tailed swallowBlue swallow vs Tahiti swallowBlue swallow vs Ethiopian swallow

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the blue swallow?

An adult blue swallow weighs 13.8 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the blue swallow endangered?

The blue swallow is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.

What kind of animal is the blue swallow?

The blue swallow (Hirundo atrocaerulea) belongs to the family Hirundinidae in the order Passeriformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Blue swallow (Hirundo atrocaerulea). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/blue-swallow

MLA

“Blue swallow (Hirundo atrocaerulea).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/blue-swallow.

BibTeX
@misc{blue_swallow_2026,
  title = {Blue swallow (Hirundo atrocaerulea)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/blue-swallow},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}