- Lifespan
- 3–4 years in the wild, with occasional individuals reaching 10+ years
- Size & Weight
- 12–13 cm, wingspan 26–29 cm; 16–22 g
- Habitat
- Urban and suburban areas where it nests under the eaves of buildings, cliffs, and other structures, often near water.
- UK Distribution
- Summer breeding visitor throughout the UK from April to October; absent during winter months. More abundant in southern and central England; less common in northern Scotland.
- Diet
- Exclusively aerial insectivore, feeding on small flying insects such as flies, gnats, midges, and small beetles caught in flight.
- Prey
- Small flying insects (dipterans, aphids, small beetles) caught in aerial foraging
- Predators
- Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Eurasian Kestrel, and occasionally larger gulls; eggs and nestlings vulnerable to magpies and jackdaws
- Mating Season
- May to August
- Breeding
- Clutch size 3–4 eggs; incubation period 14–16 days; fledging period 19–26 days. Usually 1–2 broods per season.
- Behaviour
- House Martins are highly social, often breeding in loose colonies and foraging in flocks. They are graceful, acrobatic fliers and communicate with distinctive liquid, twittering calls. Unlike swallows, they have white rumps and fully feathered feet.