New Spotter’s Guide to Swifts, Swallows and House Martins

Swifts, swallows, and house martins are all expert fliers that hunt insects mid-air, catching and eating them while in flight. These birds are social and gregarious, and they have similar sizes and shapes, making it challenging to distinguish between them.

By popular request we have produced this new guide as part of our Spotter’s Guide series to help with identifying what species you see. 

If you need help in identifying the calls of swifts, swallows and house martins, or any other type of bird then use iNaturalist to record the sound and it will suggest likely matches as well as making a biological record. For more information on using iNaturalist which is a free and fun app to use visit our how to add your records page.