- Lifespan
- 5–8 years in the wild
- Size & Weight
- 12–13 cm, wingspan 26–29 cm; 9–12 g
- Habitat
- Open areas near freshwater bodies such as rivers, lakes, gravel pits, and reservoirs where suitable nesting banks are available.
- UK Distribution
- Summer breeding visitor across much of England, Wales, and southern Scotland from April to September; rare in winter; absent from many upland and northern regions.
- Diet
- Small flying insects captured in flight, particularly midges, mayflies, small flies, and aphids.
- Predators
- Sparrowhawks, hobbies, and kestrels; corvids and stoats may raid nest burrows; cats threaten birds at colony sites.
- Mating Season
- April to August
- Breeding
- Clutch size 3–4 eggs; incubation period 12–15 days; fledging period 18–22 days; typically 1–2 broods per season.
- Behaviour
- Highly colonial, nesting in burrows excavated in soft banks and cliffs; birds arrive from African wintering grounds in spring and depart by early autumn. They hunt acrobatically over water in small, fast-moving flocks, often mixing with swallows and swifts.