The hill swallow is a small passerine bird in the swallow family. It breeds in southern India and Sri Lanka. It is resident apart from some local seasonal movements. This bird is associated with coasts, but is increasingly spreading to forested uplands. It was formerly considered to be a subspecies of the Pacific swallow.
Region
South Asia
Typical Environment
Occurs in southern India and Sri Lanka, where it is common along coasts, estuaries, and rocky headlands. It also uses open country in the lowlands and increasingly occupies forested uplands and tea/coffee estate landscapes. Frequently around human settlements, roads, and bridges where nesting substrates are available. Often forages over rivers, reservoirs, and paddy fields. Tolerant of modified habitats provided there is open airspace and nearby water.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 2200 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
Hill swallows build neat cup-shaped mud nests on sheltered ledges, bridges, and culverts, often reusing sites year after year. They are easily confused with barn swallows but have a much shorter, shallowly forked tail. Formerly treated as a subspecies of the Pacific swallow, they are now recognized as a distinct species restricted to southern India and Sri Lanka.
Hill swallow, painting by John Gould
Hill swallow
Temperament
social and active
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with agile swoops and glides
Social Behavior
Often seen in small groups, especially when foraging over water or open fields. Nests solitarily or in loose colonies, with pairs constructing mud cup nests under overhangs or on man-made structures. Both sexes participate in nest building and feeding the young.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Soft twittering trills and high-pitched chips given in flight and from perches. Calls are rapid and buzzy, used to maintain contact while foraging and to signal alarm near nests.
Plumage
Glossy blue-black upperparts with a rufous forehead and throat; underparts buffy to pale rufous and mostly unmarked. Tail is short and shallowly forked with small whitish spots on the tail feathers.
Diet
Catches small flying insects such as flies, termites, beetles, and winged ants on the wing. Foraging is predominantly aerial, using fast, agile maneuvers low over water and open ground. After rain or termite emergences, it may gather in mixed-species swallow flocks to exploit abundant prey.
Preferred Environment
Hunts over rivers, lakes, coastal margins, paddy fields, and open clearings in hills and plantations. Frequently forages near cliffs, bridges, and roads where rising air and insect concentrations occur.
