The Madagascar martin is a small passerine bird in the swallow family Hirundinidae that is found in montane Madagascar. It was formerly considered to be a subspecies of the brown-throated martin.
Region
Madagascar Highlands
Typical Environment
Occurs mainly across the central plateau of Madagascar, favoring open landscapes near freshwater. It frequents river corridors, lakeshores, marsh edges, and rice fields where exposed banks allow nesting. Outside the breeding season it forages over grasslands and agricultural mosaics. Colonies are often located in eroded embankments, road cuttings, and natural stream banks.
Altitude Range
600–2000 m
Climate Zone
Highland
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
The Madagascar martin is a small swallow endemic to the island’s central highlands and was formerly treated as a subspecies of the brown-throated (plain) martin. It nests colonially by tunneling into soft earth banks along rivers, ponds, and rice paddies. Like other martins, it is an agile aerial insectivore that helps control swarms of aquatic and agricultural pests.
Temperament
social and active
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with agile, low-level foraging over water and fields
Social Behavior
Typically forms loose to dense colonies during breeding, excavating nest tunnels in soft, vertical banks. Pairs are monogamous within a season and both sexes share incubation and chick-rearing. Roosting can be communal, especially outside the breeding period.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
A dry, twittering series of chips and trills delivered on the wing. Near colonies it gives a simple, buzzy chatter used in contact and alarm.
Plumage
Plain, warm-brown upperparts with slightly darker wings and tail; underparts whitish with a dusky throat and faint smudged breast band.
Diet
Feeds almost entirely on small flying insects such as midges, mosquitoes, emergent aquatic insects, flying ants/termites, and small beetles. It captures prey in sustained flight, often skimming low over water or fields. During swarms it forages in mixed flocks with other swallows and swifts.
Preferred Environment
Most frequently hunts above rivers, ponds, wetlands, and flooded rice paddies. Also forages over open grassland and agricultural areas near nesting sites.
