Cave swallow
Petrochelidon fulva (Vieillot, 1808)
The cave swallow (Petrochelidon fulva) is a species in the family Hirundinidae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh 17.7 g to 19.1 g and live up to 9.3 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
.jpg){kind=link}
Quick facts about the cave swallow
- Weight
- 17.7 g – 19.1 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 9.3 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Invertivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 24 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- grasslandsrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- 4src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 12 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 2src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Aerialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Partialsrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the cave swallow live?
Not recorded
What is the cave swallow?
The cave swallow (Petrochelidon fulva) is a medium-sized, squarish-tailed swallow belonging to the same genus as the more familiar and widespread cliff swallow of North America. The cave swallow, also native to the Americas, nests and roosts primarily in caves and sinkholes.
Cave swallows are found in Mexico and the Greater Antilles, with fall and winter vagrants reaching the east and Gulf Coasts of the U.S. Breeding colonies occur in south-eastern New Mexico, Texas, Florida, the Greater Antilles, portions of southern Mexico, and along the west coast of South America. Five subspecies are currently recognized according to Birds of North America, three occurring in North America and two in South America.
From the Wikipedia article “Cave swallow” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cave_swallow&oldid=1339020035), 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 cave swallow endangered?
The cave swallow is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the cave swallow classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyHirundinidae
- genusPetrochelidon
- SpeciesPetrochelidon fulva (Vieillot, 1808)
Synonyms Hirundo fulva, Hirundo fulva fulva
Other names and names in other languages (36)
- Cinnamon-throated swallowEnglish
- سنونو الكهفArabic
- oreneta de covaCatalan
- vlaštovka jeskynníCzech
- GrottesvaleDanish
- HöhlenschwalbeGerman
- kava hirundoEsperanto
- Golondrina puebleraSpanish
- Golondrina CavernícolaSpanish
- Golondrina de CuevasSpanish
- koopapääsukeEstonian
- luolapääskyFinnish
- Hirondelle à front brunFrench
- spiljska lastavicaCroatian
- barlangi fecskeHungarian
- Rondine delle grotteItalian
- セスジツバメJapanese
- rudoji klifinė kregždėLithuanian
- alu bezdelīgaLatvian
- HolenzwaluwDutch
- Souchi KuebaPapiamento
- Swalchi CuebaPapiamento
- jaskółka jaskiniowaPolish
- andorinha-fulvaPortuguese
- andorinha-das-cavernasPortuguese
- Rândunică de peșterăRomanian
- Пещерная ласточкаRussian
- Пещерная горная ласточкаRussian
- lastovička karibskáSlovak
- Američka pećinska lastaSerbian
- grottsvalaSwedish
- mağara kırlangıçTurkish
- Mağara KırlangıcıTurkish
- ясківка печернаUkrainian
- 穴崖燕Chinese
- 黃石燕Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the cave swallow
Other species in the same genus Petrochelidon.
Cliff swallow
Petrochelidon pyrrhonota
Streak-throated swallow
Petrochelidon fluvicola
Fairy martin
Petrochelidon ariel
Tree martin
Petrochelidon nigricans
Red sea cliff swallow
Petrochelidon perdita
South African cliff swallow
Petrochelidon spilodera
CompareCave swallow vs Cliff swallowCave swallow vs Streak-throated swallowCave swallow vs Fairy martinCave swallow vs Tree martin
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the cave swallow?
An adult cave swallow weighs 17.7 g – 19.1 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the cave swallow endangered?
The cave swallow is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
How long does the cave swallow live?
The cave swallow has a recorded lifespan of 9.3 years.
What kind of animal is the cave swallow?
The cave swallow (Petrochelidon fulva) 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.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Cave swallow (Petrochelidon fulva). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/cave-swallow
“Cave swallow (Petrochelidon fulva).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/cave-swallow.
@misc{cave_swallow_2026,
title = {Cave swallow (Petrochelidon fulva)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/cave-swallow},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}