Sand martin
Riparia riparia (Linnaeus, 1758)
The sand martin (Riparia riparia), also called the bank swallow, is a bird in the family Hirundinidae, order Passeriformes, within the songbirds and other perching birds. It is a small bird with an adult body mass of 12.68 g, up to 14.35 g, and a wingspan of 27 cm.
Quick facts about the sand martin
The sand martin is a migratory, aerial invertivore of riverine habitats, with a geographic range of 36,580,000 km². It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
- Weight
- 12.7 g – 14.4 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 27 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 8 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Invertivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 10 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- riverinesrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 14.8 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 4.49src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 12 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1.5src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Aerialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Migratorysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the sand martin?
Photos of the sand martin
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the sand martin live?
Not recorded
What is the sand martin?
The sand martin (Riparia riparia), also known as the collared sand martin or common sand martin, and in the Americas as the bank swallow, is a migratory passerine bird in the swallow family Hirundinidae. It has a wide range in summer, embracing practically the whole Holarctic area, from Europe, across Asia to the Pacific Ocean, and throughout North America. It winters in eastern and southern Africa, southern Asia, and South America.
From the Wikipedia article “Sand martin” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sand_martin&oldid=1380703927), 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.
What does the sand martin sound like?
Is the sand martin endangered?
The sand martin 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 sand martin classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyHirundinidae
- genusRiparia
- SpeciesRiparia riparia (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Cotile fohkienensis, Hirundo riparia, Hirundo trogloditus, Riparia europaea, Riparia riparia goroshkoi, Riparia riparia macrorhyncha, Riparia riparia sibirica
Other names and names in other languages (141)
- Bank swallowEnglish
- BASWEnglish
- Collared sand martinEnglish
- Collared sand-martinEnglish
- Common sand martinEnglish
- Common sand-martinEnglish
- European sand martinEnglish
- Northern sand martinEnglish
- Northern sand-martinEnglish
- Europese OewerswaelAfrikaans
- خطاف الرملArabic
- سنونو الرملArabic
- سنونو الرمل المطوقArabic
- Volandrina de riberaAragonese
- Andarina de RíuAsturian
- Adi sahil qaranquşuAzerbaijani
- Яр ҡарлуғасыBashkir
- Ластаўка-зямлянкаBelarusian
- Берагавая ластаўкаBelarusian
- Берагоўая ластаўкаBelarusian
- Брегова лястовицаBulgarian
- বালু নাকুটিBangla
- Gwennili-vriellBreton
- Oreneta de riberaCatalan
- oreneta de ribera comunaCatalan
- ЛяркӓMari
- ᏦᏯᎦCherokee
- Ҫыр чӗкеҫӗChuvash
- Ҫӗр чӗкеҫӗChuvash
- břehule říčníCzech
- WierzgùlëcaKashubian
- gwennol y glennyddWelsh
- Gwenoliaid y GlennyddWelsh
- digesvaleDanish
- UferschwalbeGerman
- Mały šnapacLower Sorbian
- ΟχθοχελίδονοGreek
- ΒαλτοχελίδονοGreek
- bordhirundoEsperanto
- Avión zapadorSpanish
- Golondrina barranqueraSpanish
- Golondrina de CollarSpanish
- Golondrina pardaSpanish
- Golondrina Parda ChicaSpanish
- Golondrina ribereñaSpanish
- Golondrina zapadoraSpanish
- kaldapääsukeEstonian
- Uhalde-enaraBasque
- چلچله رودخانه ایPersian
- törmäpääskyFinnish
- ÁarsvalaFaroese
- Hirondelle de rivageFrench
- SunswaalkNorthern Frisian
- Pic piçulFriulian
- IerdswelWestern Frisian
- BruachalánIrish
- fallagScottish Gaelic
- fallaganScottish Gaelic
- gabhlán gainimhScottish Gaelic
- gobhlain-ghainmhichScottish Gaelic
- Gobhlan gainbhichScottish Gaelic
- Gobhlan gainmhichScottish Gaelic
- gobhlan-gainmhichScottish Gaelic
- Andoriña das barreirasGalician
- Gollan geinneeManx
- Mbyju'iGuarani
- Irondèl kolye senpHaitian Creole
- כוכית גדותHebrew
- כוכית כוכית גדות *Hebrew
- partifecskeHungarian
- Առափնյա ծիծեռնակArmenian
- Layanglayang PasirIndonesian
- Layang-layang pasirIndonesian
- BakkasvalaIcelandic
- TopinoItalian
- ショウドウツバメJapanese
- მენაპირე მერცხალიGeorgian
- ПсыхъуэпцӀащхъуэKabardian
- Харлыгасkjn
- Жар қарлығашыKazakh
- 갈색제비Korean
- SîvanokKurdish
- Gwennol tewasCornish
- Sisampamemakwn
- SandschmuewelLuxembourgish
- GrondschmuewelLuxembourgish
- Becalen picelld
- urvinė kregždėLithuanian
- paprastoji urvinė kregždėLithuanian
- krastu čurksteLatvian
- эҥервараксимMari
- мландевараксимMari
- Песочна ластовицаMacedonian
- брегова ластовичкаMacedonian
- മണൽ കത്രികMalayalam
- îawwiefa tax-XtutMaltese
- Элсэн хараацайMongolian
- Burung Layang-layang AwanMalay
- sandsvaleNorwegian Bokmål
- oeverzwaluwDutch
- Pic pichòtOccitan
- Memsaadkon’gwiigaans (Memisaadakoningwiigaans)Ojibwa
- Souchi RiberaPapiamento
- Swalchi RiberaPapiamento
- TarouPicard
- brzegówkaPolish
- brzegówka (zwyczajna)Polish
- Jaskółka brzegówkaPolish
- andorinha-das-barreirasPortuguese
- andorinha-das-barreiras-comumPortuguese
- Andorinha-do-barrancoPortuguese
- Pitgalain pitschenRomansh
- LăstunRomanian
- Lăstun de malRomanian
- БереговушкаRussian
- береговая ласточкаRussian
- ласточка-береговушкаRussian
- Ластівка берегівкаRusyn
- DerpmošNorthern Sami
- dearbmebeskkosNorthern Sami
- miellespálfuNorthern Sami
- riddospálfuNorthern Sami
- brehuľa hnedáSlovak
- breguljkaSlovenian
- NyenganyengaShona
- Dallëndyshe e lummitAlbanian
- dallëndyshja e lumitAlbanian
- BregunicaSerbian
- БрегуницаSerbian
- Lasta bregunica - Ласта брегуницаSerbian
- backsvalaSwedish
- Kinegwa wa KizunguSwahili
- นกนางแอ่นทรายสร้อยคอดำThai
- kum kirlangiciTurkish
- Эрик хараачыгайыTuvinian
- Ластівка береговаUkrainian
- MalindVeps
- Nhạn nâu xámVietnamese
- 崖沙燕Chinese
- 灰沙燕Chinese
- 灰沙燕〔崖沙燕〕Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the sand martin
Other species in the same genus Riparia.
Brown-throated martin
Riparia paludicola
Congo martin
Riparia congica
Pale martin
Riparia diluta
Grey-throated martin
Riparia chinensis
Madagascar martin
Riparia cowani
CompareSand martin vs Brown-throated martinSand martin vs Congo martinSand martin vs Pale martinSand martin vs Grey-throated martin
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the sand martin?
The sand martin is a bird in the family Hirundinidae, part of the songbirds and other perching birds in the order Passeriformes.
How heavy is a sand martin?
An adult sand martin weighs 12.68 g, with a highest reported value of 14.35 g. Its wingspan is 27 cm.
What does the sand martin eat?
The sand martin is an invertivore, placing it at the carnivore trophic level, and it forages in the air.
Is the sand martin endangered?
No. The sand martin is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does a sand martin live?
The sand martin has a lifespan of 8 years, with a highest reported value of 10 years.
How many eggs does a sand martin lay?
The sand martin lays 4.49 eggs per clutch and has 1.5 clutches per year, with an incubation period of 14.75 days.
Is the sand martin migratory?
Yes. The sand martin is a migratory bird of riverine habitats.
Who named the sand martin?
The sand martin was named Riparia riparia by (Linnaeus, 1758).
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). Sand martin (Riparia riparia). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/sand-martin
“Sand martin (Riparia riparia).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/sand-martin.
@misc{sand_martin_2026,
title = {Sand martin (Riparia riparia)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/sand-martin},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}