---
title: "Western House Martin"
description: "Delichon urbicum — Uccelli. The western house martin (Delichon urbicum), sometimes called the common house martin, northern house martin or, particularly in Europe, just house martin, is a migratory passerine bird of the swallow family which breeds in Europe, north Africa and west-central Asia; and winters in sub-Saharan Africa and southwestern Asia."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/it/animal/western-house-martin
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Western House Martin

> Delichon urbicum — Uccelli. The western house martin (Delichon urbicum), sometimes called the common house martin, northern house martin or, particularly in Europe, just house martin, is a migratory passerine bird of the swallow family which breeds in Europe, north Africa and west-central Asia; and winters in sub-Saharan Africa and southwestern Asia.

- Scientific name: *Delichon urbicum*
- Category: `birds` (Uccelli)
- Habitats: `urban` (Città e giardini)
- iNaturalist observations: 38946
- Wikidata: [Q26055](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q26055)
- iNaturalist taxon: [64705](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/64705)

## Names

- en: Western House Martin
- de: Mehlschwalbe
- es: Avión común
- fr: Hirondelle de fenêtre
- nl: Huiszwaluw
- pt: Andorinha-dos-beirais
- pl: Oknówka zwyczajna

## Countries with the most observations

ES (4894), RU (4372), FR (3065), IT (2906), GB (2794), DE (2321), PT (1980), AT (750), CH (615), CZ (555), UA (547), PL (463)

## Summary

The western house martin (Delichon urbicum), sometimes called the common house martin, northern house martin or, particularly in Europe, just house martin, is a migratory passerine bird of the swallow family which breeds in Europe, north Africa and west-central Asia; and winters in sub-Saharan Africa and southwestern Asia. It feeds on insects which are caught in flight, and it migrates to climates where flying insects are plentiful. It has a blue head and upperparts, white rump and pure white underparts, and is found in both open country and near human habitation. It is similar in appearance to the two other martin…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_house_martin

## Photo

![Western House Martin](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/western-house-martin/medium.jpg)

Photo: Matthieu Trotignon · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/384061648

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/western-house-martin?lang=it` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).