The P. m. montanus group and the P. m. songarus group have been treated as separate species.
 P. m. montanus.  From British Isles, c,e Europe s to c,se France, Italy and Balkans, and Scandinavia e across nw,c Russia and c,s Siberia to Kamchatka and s to Mongolia, w,c,ne China, se Tibet, Sakhalin, n Korea, Japan and Kuril Is.  Includes P. m. salicarius which differs in song from P. m. montanus but they intergrade abruptly or hybridize in the contact zone in the foothills of the Alps in Austria and Bavaria.
 P. m. songarus.  Mts. in e Turkestan and w China.

Parus carolinensis  CAROLINA CHICKADEE.  Forest, woods, edge, swamps, thickets, towns.  From se Kansas, c Missouri, c Illinois, c Indiana, c Ohio, s Pennsylvania and c New Jersey s to c,se Texas, Gulf coast and n peninsular Florida.

Hybridizes with P. atricapillus in Kansas, Illinois and New Jersey and they are obviously closely related, but the degree of relationship and specific status remain unclear.  Two geographically segregated genetic lineages, which do not correspond to named subspecies or known behavioral differences, have been identified; their status is unclear (Gill, et al. 1993. Evolution 47:195-212).

Parus atricapillus  BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE.  Forest, woods, tall thickets, towns.  From w,c Alaska, s Yukon, sw Mackenzie and n Saskatchewan e across s Canada to s Quebec, Anticosti I. and Newfoundland, s to s Alaska w to Alaskan Pen. and Shumagin and Kodiak islands, s to s Oregon, nw Calif., ne Nevada, s Utah, c New Mexico, Kansas, ne Oklahoma, c Missouri, sc Illinois, c Indiana, c Ohio, s Pennsylvania and n New Jersey; in the Appalachians at higher elevations to e Tennessee and w N. Carolina.
Parus gambeli  MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE.  Coniferous forest.  From nw,c British Columbia, sw Alberta, w,sc Montana and Colorado s (exc. most of coast ranges) to n Baja Calif., s Calif., s Nevada, c,se Arizona, s New Mexico and extreme sw Texas.  Closely related to P. atricacapillus.

There is substantial genetic variation in this species, but its significance is unknown (Gill, et al. 1993. Evolution 47:195-212).

Parus sclateri  MEXICAN CHICKADEE.  Coniferous and pine-oak woods.  From ne Sonora, extreme se Arizona, sw New Mexico, c Chihuahua, s Coahuila and s Nuevo León s in Mexican highlands to Oaxaca w of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, and w Veracruz.
Parus superciliosus  WHITE-BROWED TIT.  Dwarf scrubby trees, bushes.  Himalayas, 3650-4900 m of w China in c,s Kansu, e,s Tsinghai, s Tibet and n Szechwan.
Parus davidi  RUSTY-BREASTED TIT.  Mixed and deciduous forest with bamboo undergrowth.  Himalayas, 2100-3350 m of w China in s Kansu, s Shensi, n,c Szechwan.
Parus cinctus  SIBERIAN TIT.  Boreal coniferous forest, mostly spruce, aspen and willow thickets.  From n,c Scandinavia e across n Russia and n,c Siberia to Anadyrland and Kamchatka, s to sc Siberia at Lake Baikal and n Amurland, nw Mongolia and Sakhalin; questionable reports from cn China.  In w,n,c Alaska s to c Alaska Range, n Yukon and nw Mackenzie.

Parus hudsonicus  BOREAL CHICKADEE.  Coniferous and mixed forest.  From w,c Alaska, c Yukon, nw,sc Mackenzie and n Saskatchewan e across n,c Canada to Labrador and Newfoundland, and s tos Alaska w to Alaska Pen., British Columbia e of coast ranges, nc Washington, nw Montana, sw,c Alberta, c Saskatchewan, s Manitoba, n Minnesota, n Michigan, Ontario (exc. extreme s), n New York and n New England.
Parus rufescens  CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEE.  Coniferous and mixed woods.  Coastal areas and islands from sc,se Alaska w to Prince William Sound area, w British Columbia incl. Queen Charlotte and Vancouver islands, n Idaho, w Alberta and nw Montana s through coast ranges to s Calif., and through Cascades and Sierra Nevada to c Calif.
Parus rufonuchalis  DARK-GREY TIT.  Dense conifers, rhododendron scrub.  Himalayas, 2700-3650 m, in e Turkestan, w China in w Sinkiang, ne Afghanistan in the Pamir Mts., n Pakistan and nw India from Kashmir e to Garhwal and Kumaon.  Often included in rubidiventris.

Parus rubidiventris  RUFOUS-VENTED TIT.  Dense conifers, rhododendron scrub.

P. r. rubidiventris.  Himalayas, 2700-4300 m of nw India from Garhwal and Kumaon e to ec Nepal. P. r. beavani.  Ne India from e Nepal e to Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland, se Tibet, n Burma and c China.

Parus melanolophus  BLACK-CRESTED TIT.  Conifers, mixed woods.  Himalayas, 1500-3650 m, in e Afghanistan, n Pakistan in Gilgit, and n India from Kashmir e to w Nepal.
 Has been considered conspecific with ater because of hybridization in Nepal, but the two appear to be sympatric without interbreeding elsewhere in the area of overlap.
Parus ater  COAL TIT.  Conifers, mixed woods, deciduous woods.  From British Isles and s Scandinavia e across nw,c Russia and c,s Siberia to Sea of Okhotsk and c,s Kamchatka, s to nw Africa from Morocco to Tunisia, n Mediterranean region incl. Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily and Crete, to Turkey and Lebanon e across n Iran, Crimea, Caucasus, Transcaucasus, w Transcaspia, Turkestan, s,e Kazakhstan, ne India from wc Nepal e to w Bhutan, se Tibet, China locally in e Sinkiang to nw Yunnan to e Heilungkiang and Fukien, Taiwan, Korea, Japan and Kuril Is.

Parus venustulus  YELLOW-BELLIED TIT.  Mixed deciduous forest.  Lowlands of e,c,s China from s Kansu, s Shensi and Hopeh s to e Szechwan, Yunnan, Kwantung, Hunan and Hupeh.
Parus elegans  ELEGANT TIT.  Forest, edge.  Philippine Islands.
Parus amabilis  PALAWAN TIT.  Forest, edge, second growth.  Calamian Is., Palawan and Balabac in the sw Philippines.
Parus cristatus  CRESTED TIT.  Conifers, mixed woods, cork oak woodland.  From Scotland (absent from England and Ireland), c,s Scandinavia and w,wc Russia e to c Ural Mts., s to Spain, s France, n Italy and Balkans.
Parus dichrous  GREY-CRESTED TIT.  Conifers.  Himalayas, 2400-4100 m, in n India from e Kashmir e to Arunachal Pradesh, se Tibet, ne Burma and c,sw China.

Parus leucomelas  WHITE-WINGED TIT.  Acacia savanna, edge, thickets.

Adults of P. leucomelas have yellowish eyes, immatures have brown eyes.  Family parties in Uganda were thought to be composed of two species, P. guineensis (yellow eyes) and P. leucomelas (brown eyes) (Sibley and Monroe, 1990:569).  Thus, guineensis is not a separate species, but a race of P. leucomelas.  (D. A. Turner, pers. comm.).  Dowsett and Dowsett-Lemaire (1993) agree.
 P. l. guineensis.  Senegambia, s Mauritania, s Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon, C. African Rep., n Zaire, s Chad, s Sudan, sw Ethiopia, Eritrea and n Uganda.
 P. l. leucomelas.  S of forested Congo region from Gabon, Congo Rep., c,s Zaire, c,s Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, w,s Kenya s to c Angola, Zambia, Malawi and n Mozambique.

Parus carpi  CARP'S TIT.  S Angola and ne Namibia s to Damaraland.  Often included in allopatric P. niger, but considered a separate species by the South African List Committee (D. A. Turner, pers. comm.).  Dowsett and Dowsett-Lemaire (1993) include carpi in niger, mainly because their vocalizations are so similar -- thus ignoring plumage differences and the fact that they are widely allopatric.
Parus niger  BLACK TIT.  Dry woodland, incl. mopane and acacia, scrub.  Se Africa from s,e Zambia and Malawi s through Zimbabwe, Botswana, n Namibia, s Angola and Mozambique to se S. Africa in Transvaal, Swaziland, Natal, e Cape Province.
Parus albiventris  WHITE-BELLIED TIT.  Forest edge, clearings, sometimes forest.  Locally in mts. in se Nigeria, w,c Cameroon; from extreme se Sudan, ne Uganda and Kenya (highlands, se coast) s to sw,s Tanzania.

Occurs at higher elevations when in the same area with leucomelas, thus they are always parapatric.  Often considered an allospecies of leucomelas, but they overlap extensively although parapatric in altitude.

Parus leuconotus  WHITE-BACKED TIT.  Woodland.  Mts. above 1800 m of Sudan and Ethiopia.
Parus funereus  DUSKY TIT.  Forest.  Locally in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Cameroon, Gabon, C. Afr. Rep., wc Angola, nw,sc,ne,ce Zaire, extreme se Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda and nw Kenya.
Parus rufiventris  RUFOUS-BELLIED TIT.  Brachystegia woodland.

Adults have yellowish eyes, immatures brown eyes.  Family parties in Tanzania were thought to be composed of two species, P. rufiventris (yellow eyes) and P. pallidiventris (brown eyes) (Sibley and Monroe, 1990, pp. 569-570).  Thus, pallidiventris is not a separate species, but a race of P. rufiventris.  (D. A. Turner, pers. comm.).  Dowsett and Dowsett-Lemaire (1993) agree.  The two forms are known to hybridize in Zimbabwe and Zambia, and possibly in other places.
 P. r. rufiventris.  Along lower Congo River; sc,se Zaire, Angola, n Namibia, n Botswana, w Zambia, w Zimbabwe.
 P. r. pallidiventris  Se Africa in c,s Tanzania, e Zambia, Malawi, nw,c Mozambique and e Zimbabwe.

Parus fringillinus  RED-THROATED TIT.  Acacia savanna.  S Kenya and n,c Tanzania.
Parus fasciiventer  STRIPE-BREASTED TIT.  Forest, bamboo.  Mts. above 1800 m in w Uganda, ce Zaire, Burundi and w Rwanda.  May be part of the afer group, but is morphologically and ecologically distinct.
Parus thruppi  SOMALI TIT.  Dry acacia woodland, scrub.  S,e Ethiopia, Somalia, ne Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.  Usually included in afer, but seems to be linked to the P. major complex.
Parus griseiventris  MIOMBO TIT.  Brachystegia woodland.  C,e Angola, se Zaire, Zambia, w Tanzania, Malawi, c Zimbabwe and sw Mozambique.

Parus cinerascens  ASHY TIT.  Dry acacia woodland, scrub.  Sw Angola, Namibia, Botswana, w,c Zimbabwe and n S. Africa in nc Cape Prov., Orange Free State and w Transvaal.  Often lumped with afer, but they are probably in contact in s Namibia and n S. Africa without evidence of intergradation.
Parus afer  GREY TIT.  Dry acacia woodland, scrub.  Extreme s Namibia and w,s S. Africa in Cape Prov., s Orange Free State and w Lesotho.
Parus major  GREAT TIT.  Open woods, forest, towns, bamboo, mangroves.

The Parus major complex consists of three morphologically distinct subspecies groups that interbreed in overlap areas; cinereus interbreeds freely with the major and minor groups, but hybridization seems limited between major and minor.  There may be several species in this complex.
 See comments below under P. bokharensis.
 P. m. major.  From British Isles and Scandinavia e across nw,c Russia and c,s Siberia s of Arctic Circle to Amurland, Ussuriland, Sakhalin and Kuril Is., s to nw Africa from Morocco to Tunisia, n Mediterranean region incl. most islands, Turkey, Near East, n Iraq, Iran, nw Afghanistan, n Mongolia and nw,ne China in nw Sinkiang and nw Heilungkiang.
 P. m. cinereus.  From Afghanistan (exc. nw), e through Pakistan (exc. s), India n to Himalayas to 3600 m and locally in w,c India; Sri Lanka; se Tibet to Burma (exc. Tenasserim), nw,ne Thailand, se China (intergrade population with minor), Laos and Vietnam; coastal Malaya, Sumatra, Java, Lesser Sunda Is. e to Alor and Sumba, and nw Borneo (Sarawak).

P. m. minor.  C,e China w to e Tsinghai, Szechwan and Yunnan, Korea, Japan incl. Dagelet I., and the Ryukyu Is.

Parus bokharensis  TURKESTAN TIT.  Conifers, mixed forest, scrub, tamarisk.  Mts., 1800-2200 m, from e Transcaspia to Turkestan, ne Iran, ne Afghanistan and w China in nw Sinkiang.  Sometimes included in major, but they are sympatric in the w Himalayas.

Formazov (1994. J. für Orn. 135. Sonderheft, p. 45) described hybridization between P. major and P. bokharensis in sw Mongolia and Ushtobe, se Kazakhstan.  The contact probably occurred in the early 1970's, but hybridization is complete with only one bird in 30 being "pure".  Hybrids were also found at two localities near Alma-Ata.

Parus monticolus  GREEN-BACKED TIT.  Forest, farms.  Himalayas, 600-3650 m, in n Pakistan, India from Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh, and s to e Bangladesh and Manipur, se Tibet, w,ne Burma, c,s China, Taiwan and n,c Vietnam in nw Tonkin and s Annam.
Parus nuchalis  WHITE-NAPED TIT.  Thorn forest.  Locally in lowlands to 600 m of c,s India.
Parus xanthogenys  BLACK-LORED TIT.  Forest, woods, edge.  Himalayas, 1500-2100 m in n Pakistan and n India e to e Nepal and Darjeeling; lowlands to 1800 m of peninsular India.
Parus spilonotus  YELLOW-CHEEKED TIT.  Forest, scrub, towns.  Himalayas, 900-2300 m of ne India w to e Nepal and s to e Bangladesh, se Tibet, Burma (exc. c), s China, nw Thailand, Laos and n,c Vietnam in nw Tonkin and s Annam.

Parus holsti  YELLOW TIT.  Forest.  Mts., 1000-2300 m of Taiwan.
Parus caeruleus  BLUE TIT.  Woods, bushes, towns.

Hybridizes with cyanus (= P. "pleskii") in Russia, and possibly has hybridized with P. major.
 P. c. caeruleus.  From British Isles, s Scandinavia and w,c Russia e to Ural Mts., s to n Mediterranean region incl. islands exc. Cyprus, Turkey, w,n Iran, s Russia and Transcaspia.
 P. c. teneriffae.  Canary Is. and from Morocco e to n Libya.

Parus cyanus  AZURE TIT.  Woods, riparian woods, oases.  From w,c Russia w to Smolensk area, e across s Siberia to s Amurland and Ussuriland, s to e Kazakhstan, e Kirghiz steppes and e Pamir Mts., w China in Sinkiang, ne Mongolia and n Manchuria in n,c Heilungkiang.  See P. caeruleus and flavipectus.
Parus flavipectus  YELLOW-BREASTED TIT.  Woods, riparian woods, oases.

Often lumped with cyanus, but hybridization is limited.
 P. f. flavipectus.  Mts. in Turkestan, Kirghiz steppes, sw Siberia in the Altai and n Afghanistan in the w Pamir Mts.
 P. f. berezowskii.  Nw China in e Tsinghai.

Parus varius  VARIED TIT.  Open mixed woods, forest.  Se Manchuria in se Kirin and se Liaoning, Korea, s Kuril Is., Japan, Ryukyu Is. and Taiwan.
Parus semilarvatus  WHITE-FRONTED TIT.  Forest.  Lowlands to 1000 m of n,s Philippines on Luzon and Mindanao.  Reports from Negros are erroneous.
Parus wollweberi  BRIDLED TITMOUSE.  Scrub oak, juniper woods, willows.  Mts., 1500-2450 m from nc Sonora, c,se Arizona, sw New Mexico, nw,c Chihuahua, n Durango, Zacatecas, c Nuevo León and w Tamaulipas s through Mexican highlands to c Oaxaca w of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, and w Veracruz.
Parus inornatus  PLAIN TITMOUSE.  Oak and pinyon-juniper woods.

The two groups are genetically distinct and may be separate species.
 P. i. inornatus.  From sw Oregon s, w of the Sierra Nevada, through Calif. to nw Baja Calif.; s Baja Calif. in the Cape District.
 P. i. ridgwayi.  From se Oregon, ne Nevada, se Idaho, s Wyoming, c Colorado and w Oklahoma s, e of Sierra Nevada, to se Calif., c,se Arizona, extreme ne Sonora, s New Mexico and extreme w Texas.

Parus bicolor  TUFTED TITMOUSE.  Forest, woods, scrub, towns.  From ne Nebraska, c,e Iowa, se Minnesota, s Wisconsin, s Michigan, extreme s Ontario, n Ohio, nw Pennsylvania, c New York, s Vermont, w Massachusetts and sw Connecticut s to e Texas, Gulf coast and s Florida.
Parus atricristatus  BLACK-CRESTED TITMOUSE.  Oak-juniper, scrub, mesquite, riparian woods.  From w,n Texas s through Coahuila, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas and e San Luis Potosí s to Hidalgo and n Veracruz.  Often included in bicolor with which it intergrades or hybridizes in nc Texas.

Sylviparus modestus YELLOW-BROWED TIT.  Alpine scrub, forest.  Himalayas, 1800-3600 m in n India from Kashmir e to Arunachal Pradesh, and s to Assam, Manipur and Nagaland, se Tibet, w,ne,e Burma, sw,se China, nw Thailand, n Laos and n,c Vietnam in nw Tonkin and s Annam.
 9 cm. Small, dull olive above, wings, tail; olive-gray below.  Food insects, larvae, pupae, some fruit.  Nest a thick pad of fur and moss in a tree hole; eggs 4-6, white.

Melanochlora sultanea  SULTAN TIT.  Woods, forest, second growth.  Himalayan foothills to 1000 m in ne India from c Nepal e to Arunachal Pradesh and s to Bangladesh, Mizoram and Manipur, and s China, Hainan, mts. in se Asia (exc. c Thailand, Cambodia and s Vietnam).

19 cm. Long, yellow crest; glossy black face, throat, back, wings, tail; yellow below.  Food mainly insects, some fruit, seeds.  Nest a pad of moss lined with plant down, in a hollow or crack in a tree trunk; eggs 6-7, white with reddish and pinkish-gray spots.

Family AEGITHALIDAE:  Long-tailed Tits, Bushtits, Pygmy Tit.
 The Long-tailed Tits (Aegithalos) occur in Eurasia; the Bushtits (Psaltriparus) in w N.A., Mexico, to c Guatemala in woods, gardens, cultivation.  The Pygmy Tit (Psaltria) lives in the mountains of w, c Java.  It's affinities are unknown and it is placed in the Aegithalidae because there is no evidence to the contrary and it is superficially similar to the aegithalids.  Long-tailed tits and bushtits are small (8-14 cm), long-tailed and fluffy-plumaged; feed on insects and spiders gleaned from foliage, take some seeds.

Aegithalos:  Long-tailed Tits.  Nest a domed structure placed in a tree fork, composed of plant down, moss, cobwebs and fibers, almost covered with lichens; lined with feathers; side entrance a hole near the top.  Eggs 3-8, white or pale lilac, usually with reddish speckles forming a ring around the large end.

A..caudatus of Eurasia is geographically variable; in Scandinavia mostly white with brownish-rufous on back, white tips to graduated rectrices; Britain, c,s Europe wide blackish superciliary, buffy to rufous streaks below and streaked face; Asia Minor grayish above, black throat spot.  The other species occur in the Himalayas and mountains of se Asia, sw China, Burma.  A. concinnus has rufous crown, black face mask with white above and below, black throat; rufescent below, back gray, wings and tail brown with white outer edges and tips; leucogenys similar with no white above eye, larger white area below eye, paler below; niveogularis white forehead, chin, throat, sides of neck; rufous hindcrown, nape; pale rufous below and darker above; iouschistos median crown, forehead, sides of neck buffy; broad black superciliary; gray back; throat white, underparts rufous; fuliginosus brownish above; sides of crown, nape, eye region, blue gray; throat pale gray; sides and upper breast white, breast rufous; belly white, flanks and crissum rufous; tail brown with white outer webs.

Aegithalos caudatus  LONG-TAILED TIT.  Thickets, woods, edge.

Morphological variation is generally latitudinal, but the subspecies groups intergrade.
 A. c. europaeus.  Lowlands and mts. to 3660 m in the British Isles, continental Europe (exc. Germany, Poland, extreme e Balkans, s Iberian Pen. and Italy), Corsica and the Crimea; Korea, Japan from Honshu to Kyushu incl. small islands.
 A. c. caudatus.  From c,s Scandinavia, Germany and Poland e across nw,sw,c Russia and s Siberia w to Altai and n to ca. lat. 61°N, to Sea of Okhotsk and Kamchatka, s to extreme e Balkans, w China in Sinkiang, Mongolia, Manchuria in Heilungkiang and Kirin, n Japan on Hokkaido, and Kuril Is.
 A. c. alpinus.  N Mediterranean region in s Iberian Pen., Sardinia, Italy, Sicily, to Turkey, Caucasus, Transcaucasus, w Transcaspia, w,n Iran and ne,e China from Kansu e to Hopeh and s Liaoning, s to e Tsinghai, Szechwan, n Yunnan and the Yangtze Valley.

Aegithalos leucogenys  WHITE-CHEEKED TIT.  Alpine forest, juniper, Ilex scrub.  Himalayas, 1600-3650 m in e Afghanistan, n Pakistan s to n Baluchistan, and nw India in w Kashmir.
Aegithalos concinnus  BLACK-THROATED TIT.  Forest.  Mts., 1000-2750 m from Pakistan and n India to Burma, s China, se Asia and Taiwan.
Aegithalos niveogularis  WHITE-THROATED TIT.  Alpine forest, scrub, undergrowth.  Himalayas, 2400-3600 m in n Pakistan and nw India from Kashmir e to n Himachal Pradesh and Garhwal.  Sometimes included in iouschistos.
Aegithalos iouschistos  BLACK-BROWED TIT.  Alpine forest, scrub, undergrowth.  Himalayas, 1500-4300 m in n India from c Nepal e to Arunachal Pradesh and s Tibet (= iouschistos).  Sw China in Szechwan and n Yunnan, and w,ne Burma (= bonvaloti).

Aegithalos fuliginosus  WHITE-NECKLACED TIT.  Oak forest.  Mts., 1000-2300 m of w,c China from s Kansu, s Shensi and sw Hupeh s to w Szechwan.
 Psaltriparus:  Bushtits are small, gray above, paler below, brownish crown; melanotis has blackish cheeks.  Occur in non-breeding flocks.  Nest a long, pear-shaped or gourd-shaped, pendant structure of plant down, moss, grass, cobwebs, lichens, lined with plant down, feathers, etc., side entrance near top; suspended from, and concealed by, foliage.  Eggs 5-7, white.
Psaltriparus minimus  BUSHTIT.  Woods, chaparral, pinyon-juniper woodland, riparian woods, coastal scrub, towns.  The melanotis group formerly was treated as a separate species, but appears to be a localized polymorphism in the plumbeus group; the minimus and plumbeus groups are reported to intergrade, but the contact zone has not been studied in detail.

P. m. minimus.  From sw British Columbia, w Washington and w,sc Oregon s through Calif. w of the Sierra Nevada to s Baja Calif.
 P. m. plumbeus.  Mts. from se Oregon, sw Idaho, n Nevada, nc Utah, sw Wyoming, nc Colorado and w Oklahoma s to se Calif., c,se Arizona, c Sonora, s New Mexico and c Texas.
 P. m. melanotis.  From ne Sonora, sw New Mexico and w Texas s through highlands of Mexico to c Guatemala.
Psaltria exilis  PYGMY TIT.  Forest.  Mts. of w,c Java.  Relationships obscure.  8 cm. May be the smallest passerine.  Brown above, whitish below, long tail.  Nest a suspended, pouch-like structure.

Family HIRUNDINIDAE:  River-Martins, Swallows, Martins.  Worldwide, except polar regions; only winter in New Zealand; absent from some small islands.

10-23 cm.  The short tarsi are ridged behind (= acutiplantar) and the syrinx has more or less complete bronchial rings, compared with half rings with a membrane across the inner face, in all other oscines.  These unique characters have been the basis for assigning the Hirundinidae a position at, or near, the beginning of the oscine (Passeri) sequence in most classifications.  DNA comparisons indicate that the hirundinids are members of the Sylvioidea.  Their long, pointed wings and small bills with broad gapes are adapted for capturing insects during sustained flight; some occasionally eat berries.
 Eggs 3-8, plain white or with reddish spots; the female incubates.
 Nest sites and structure vary and are correlated with genetic relationships determined by DNA hybridization (Winkler and Sheldon, 1993. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., USA 90:5705; Sheldon and Winkler 1994. Auk 110:798-824).  The DNA hybridization data suggest that as few as four genera could be recognized in the Hirundininae: Psalidoprocne, Cheramoeca (+ Pseudhirundo), Riparia and Hirundo.

Subfamily PSEUDOCHELIDONINAE:  River-Martins.  W Africa; se Asia.

Pseudochelidon eurystomina  AFRICAN RIVER-MARTIN.  Occurs only in Zaire, Congo and Gabon, mainly along the Middle Congo River system.

14 cm. Black with bright red bill, red iris; tail short, square-tipped.  Nests in colonies on riverine sand bars; nest in a tunnel dug obliquely into the sand for a meter or more, ending in a round chamber lined with twigs and leaves.  Eggs 2-3, white.

Pseudochelidon sirintarae  WHITE-EYED RIVER-MARTIN.  Known from nine specimens taken in reedbeds in c Thailand in winter.  Not reported in recent years, possibly extinct.

15 cm. Black with white rump band; broad yellow bill; white iris; two long, wire-like tail streamers which are extensions of the shafts of the central rectrices. Nesting unknown, report of breeding in China incorrect.  There is no certainty that these similar species are closely related.

Subfamily HIRUNDININAE:  Swallows, Martins.  Worldwide, except as noted above under Hirundinidae.

Tachycineta: North, Central and South America. 12-13.5 cm.  All are glossy greenish-blue or blue above, white below; all except bicolor have a white rump or partially white rump; some with white in wings or superciliary line; tails notched.  Forage in the open, often over water.  Nest of grass, hair, etc., in a tree hole or crevice; some in loose colonies.
Tachycineta bicolor  TREE SWALLOW.  Open and partly open areas, usually near water.  From w,c Alaska, c Yukon, nw,s Mackenzie and n Saskatchewan e across c Canada to c Labrador and Newfoundland, s to sw Alaska on the Alaska Pen., along Pacific coast to s Calif., and to c Nevada, c Arizona, sc New Mexico, sc Texas, ne Louisiana, wc Mississippi, n Alabama, c Georgia and N. Carolina; sporadic or irregular breeder in se portion of range.

Tachycineta albilinea  MANGROVE SWALLOW.  Mangroves, coastal lagoons, rivers, beaches.

Closely related to albiventer.  The isolated Peruvian race stolzmanni sometimes is treated as a separate species.
   T. a. albilinea.  Lowlands from s Sonora, se San Luis Potosí and s Tamaulipas s, incl. Yucatán Pen. and most islands, to Costa Rica and Panama incl. I. Coiba.
 T. a. stolzmanni.  Coastal nw Peru from Tumbes to La Libertad.

Tachycineta albiventer  WHITE-WINGED SWALLOW.  Wooded rivers, marshes.  Lowlands to 500 m from n,c,e Colombia, Venezuela, Margarita I., Trinidad and Guianas s, e of the Andes, through e Ecuador, e Peru, n,e Bolivia and Brazil to Paraguay and n Argentina in Jujuy, Salta, Chaco, Corrientes and Misiones.  See albilinea.
Tachycineta leucorrhoa  WHITE-RUMPED SWALLOW.  Open woods, pastures.  Lowlands to 1000 m in Paraguay, se Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina s to La Rioja, La Pampa and Buenos Aires.
Tachycineta meyeni  CHILEAN SWALLOW.  Woods, towns.  Lowlands to 1000 m from n Chile n to Atacama and c Argentina n to Neuquén and w Río Negro, s to Tierra del Fuego.  Perhaps conspecific with leucorrhoa, but they are not known to intergrade.

Tachycineta thalassina  VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW.  Open forest and woods.  From c Alaska, extreme sw Saskatchewan, c Montana, w N. Dakota, w S. Dakota and w Nebraska s to s Alaska w to Alaska Pen., and s to s Baja Calif., coastal Sonora and in Mexican highlands to Oaxaca and Veracruz, and to w Texas and extreme w Kansas.
Tachycineta cyaneoviridis  BAHAMA SWALLOW.  Clearings in pine woods, towns.  N Bahama Is. of Grand Bahama, Great Abaco, Andros and New Providence.
Tachycineta euchrysea  GOLDEN SWALLOW.  Open country, towns.  Mts. of Hispaniola and Jamaica.
 Progne:  Martins. N, C, S. America, Caribbean Is., Galapagos Is.

18-19 cm.  The largest swallows; broad, triangular wings, long forked tails; sexes differ.  Number of valid species uncertain, 4 to 8 recognized.  Most breeding ranges do not overlap, but different species may migrate or winter together.  Feed mainly on flying insects, rarely on the ground for ants and other insects.  Nest of grass, leaves, mud, in holes, cavities, often in colonies, including bird houses with many compartments.  Eggs 3-8, usually 4-5, white.
 The species of Progne are largely or entirely allopatric and often disjunct in distribution.  Although several are reported to hybridize where their ranges approach, reports of sympatry suggest that all may be treated as allospecies until contact zones are better understood.  Various taxonomic arrangements have been suggested.  In the following classification, Phaeoprogne is included in Progne.

Progne subis  Purple Martin.  Open and partly open areas, often near water or in towns.  From sw British Columbia, w Washington, w Oregon, n Calif., n Arizona, c Utah, e Idaho, ne,ec British Columbia and c Alberta e across s Canada to New Brunswick and c Nova Scotia, and s to s Baja Calif., Sonora, Isla Tiburón, and in Mexican highlands to Michoacán, Guanajuato and San Luis Potosí; and to s Texas, Gulf coast and s Florida, exc. Florida Keys.  Closely related to cryptoleuca, dominicensis and chalybea; possibly conspecific.
Progne cryptoleuca  Cuban Martin.  Open or partly open areas, often near water or towns.  Cuba and the Isle of Pines.
Progne dominicensis  Caribbean Martin.  Open or partly open areas, often near water, seacoasts, towns.  Greater Antilles (exc. Cuba and I. of Pines), incl. Virgin Is., Lesser Antilles (exc. smaller is.) and Tobago.  Cryptoleuca and sinaloae often considered conspecific with dominicensis.

Progne sinaloae  Sinaloa Martin.  Pine-oak forest and partly open areas.  Mts., 1050-2300 m from se Sonora and sw Chihuahua s through Sinaloa, n Nayarit and nw Jalisco to n Michoacán.
Progne chalybea  Grey-breasted Martin.  Open and partly open areas, usually near water or towns.  Lowlands to 1200 m from Nayarit, Coahuila, Nuevo León and Tamaulipas s along both slopes, incl. Yucatán Pen., to Panama incl. I. Coiba, and from Colombia, Venezuela, Trinidad and Guianas s, w of the Andes, to nw Peru and, e of the Andes through e Ecuador, e Peru, Amazonian,s Brazil and n,e,se Bolivia to Paraguay, Uruguay and n Argentina s to Mendoza, Córdoba and Buenos Aires.

Overlaps and hybridizes with P. modesta murphyi in nw Peru and with P. m. elegans in s Uruguay and ne Argentina.

Progne modesta  Southern Martin.  The three races may be allospecies.

P. m. modesta.  Along rocky coasts and on islands.  C,s Galapagos Islands.
 P. m. murphyi. Along rocky coasts and on islands.  Coastal Peru from Piura s to Ica, rarely to Arica in n Chile.
 P. m. elegans. Woodland, pampas, scrub, towns.  Lowlands to 2000 m in the Andes from c,se Bolivia s to s Argentina to Chubut; lowlands of n Argentina e to Chaco, Córdoba, Buenos Aires and Entre Ríos, s locally to s Uruguay.

Progne tapera  BROWN-CHESTED MARTIN..  Open woods, savanna, towns, often near water.  Lowlands to 1600 m, up to 3000 m in the Andes.  From n,e Colombia, Venezuela (locally) and Guianas s, e of the Andes, through Brazil to Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay and n Argentina s to Mendoza, La Pampa and Buenos Aires; w of the Andes in sw Ecuador n to Guayas, and nw Peru in Tumbes.

Formerly placed in Phaeoprogne, but the Winkler-Sheldon data (citations above) show that this species is a Progne.
 Often nest in the domed mud nests of horneros (Furnarius) which they may evict, or in cavities, including nests of arboreal termites.

Notiochelidon: S Mexico to Patagonia, mainly in mountains; probably absent from Amazonia except as a migrant (= cyanoleuca).

11-13 cm.  Slightly forked tails; dark crissum; feet pinkish.  N. cyanoleuca occurs from s Mexico to s Argentina; glossy blue-black to blue-violet above, white/buffy below; southern populations have black and white crissum.  N. murina dark bluish-green above, gray-brown below; flavipes like cyanoleuca: glossy blue above; throat, chest buffy, belly white, flanks brown.  Feed in flocks.  Nest in pairs or groups; in holes, crevices, under eaves, in clumps of moss on trees.

Notiochelidon murina  BROWN-BELLIED SWALLOW.  Cliffs, mt. slopes, paramo.  Mts., 1800-4000 m from Colombia and w Venezuela s through Andes of Ecuador and Peru to wc Bolivia.
Notiochelidon cyanoleuca  BLUE-AND-WHITE SWALLOW.  Open country near water, farms, road cuts.

The two groups sometimes are treated as species.
 N. c. cyanoleuca.  Lowlands and mts. to 3000 m from Costa Rica, w Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Trinidad and Guyana s through Ecuador, Peru (on Pacific coast s to Arequipa), Bolivia, e,s Brazil and Paraguay to Uruguay and nw Argentina in Tucumán.
 N. c. patagonica.  From c Chile and c Argentina s to Tierra del Fuego.

Notiochelidon flavipes  PALE-FOOTED SWALLOW.  Humid forest.  Locally in Andes, 1950-3300 m in Colombia, Venezuela, e Ecuador, e Peru and c Bolivia.
Notiochelidon pileata  BLACK-CAPPED SWALLOW.  Open woods, forest edge, partly open areas, farms.  Mts. in Chiapas, Guatemala, El Salvador and w Honduras.
 Atticora:  Occur along lowland rivers east of the Andes, mainly in the Amazon basin.

14.5 cm.  A. fasciata dark steel blue with white breast band and thighs; melanoleuca steely blue-black above, white below with blue-black breast band and crissum.  Both species have long, deeply forked tails.  A. fasciata nests in colonies in holes dug in river banks; melanoleuca in crevices among rocks above rivers or in holes; nest of dry grass and feathers.

Atticora fasciata  WHITE-BANDED SWALLOW.  Forest near water.  Lowlands to 1400 m from se Colombia, s,se Venezuela and Guianas s, e of the Andes through e Ecuador and e Peru to n Bolivia and Amazonian Brazil e to e Pará and s to n Mato Grosso and Rondônia.
Atticora melanoleuca  BLACK-COLLARED SWALLOW.  Forested rivers, near rocks, waterfalls.  Lowlands to 300 m e of the Andes in e Colombia, s,se Venezuela, Guianas and Amazonian,c Brazil s to n Mato Grosso.
Neochelidon tibialis  WHITE-THIGHED SWALLOW.  Forest edge, clearings, along roads, usually in small groups.  Locally in lowlands to 1600 m from c,se Panama, w,n,se Colombia, s Venezuela and Surinam, s, w of the Andes to w Ecuador and e of the Andes through e Ecuador and e Peru to n Bolivia and w,Amazonian Brazil s,e to Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.

10.2 cm. Dark brownish-green above, ashy brown below, black crissum, thighs white.  Nests in tree holes.

Stelgidopteryx:  Rough-winged Swallows. N, C, and S. America.

12-13 cm.  Grayish-brown, rump whitish to buffy; grayish below; S. American species with pale yellowish belly; throat cinnamon-buff.  S. fucata with rufous superciliary and nuchal collar; buffy throat, chest.  Nest in burrows dug in banks, usually solitary or in small colonies.

Stelgidopteryx fucata  TAWNY-HEADED SWALLOW.  Open country, forest, often riparian.  Locally in foothills and mts., 450-1600 m in n coastal,se Venezuela; e Peru, c,s Bolivia, n,s Brazil in n Roraima, and from Mato Grosso and Minas Gerais s, Paraguay, Uruguay and n Argentina s to Mendoza, Córdoba and Buenos Aires.
Stelgidopteryx andecola  ANDEAN SWALLOW.  Open country, esp. puna grassland.  Andes, 2500-4400 m in c,s Peru n to Lima and Junín, c,s Bolivia and n Chile in Arica and Tarapacá.

13.5 cm. Blue-black above with brownish rump and tail; throat, chest ashy-brown to whitish on abdomen; tail notched.  Nest in holes in cliffs, roadcuts, under eaves; structure of nest unknown.
 Parkes (1994. Auk 111:285-291) provides convincing evidence that the Andean Swallow is a member of the rough-winged group, not a Hirundo (or Petrochelidon).  Membership in this complex was confirmed by Sheldon and Winkler (1994. Auk 110:798-824).

Stelgidopteryx serripennis  NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW.  Farmland, riparian woods, open and partly open areas, roadside cuts.  From se Alaska, c British Columbia and s Alberta e across s Canada to New Brunswick and c Maine, s to s Baja Calif., Oaxaca, Veracruz, and Belize, s in highlands to Nicaragua and Costa Rica, and to s Texas, Gulf coast and sc,sw Florida.

S. serripennis breeds sympatrically with ruficollis in c Costa Rica, and probably in Honduras and Nicaragua.
Stelgidopteryx ridgwayi  RIDGWAY'S ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW.  Open and partly open areas, usually near water, towns.  Lowlands from sw Veracruz and se Oaxaca s to Yucatán Pen., Belize and c Guatemala.
 Usually lumped with serripennis or ruficollis, but morphologically distinct and probably overlaps serripennis in Chiapas and Belize. 

Stelgidopteryx ruficollis  SOUTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW.  Open and partly open areas, usually near water or along roadside cuts.  Lowlands and mts. to 2200 m, rarely higher, in e Honduras in Olancho, Nicaragua (Caribbean slope), Costa Rica (exc. nw), Panama, and from Colombia, Venezuela, Trinidad and Guianas s, w of Andes to nw Peru and e of Andes through e Ecuador, e Peru, Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay to Uruguay and n Argentina from Jujuy e to Misiones and s to Salta, Formosa, Entre Ríos and n Buenos Aires.
Cheramoeca leucosternus  WHITE-BACKED SWALLOW.  Open savanna.  Drier regions from n W. Australia, s N. Territory and c,se Queensland s, (exc. e of Great Dividing Range) to n Victoria, S. Australia and W. Australia, exc. sw corner.

12.5-15 cm. Dull black, white crown, throat and back; tail deeply forked.  Usually in small flocks or colonies.  Nest of grass, leaves, in a tunnel dug in a creek bank, road cut, sandpit; 4-6 white eggs.

Pseudhirundo griseopyga  GREY-RUMPED SWALLOW.  Open grassland.  From Sierra Leone and Liberia e through Nigeria, Cameroon and s Sudan to Ethiopia, and s to n Namibia, n Botswana, Zimbabwe and ne S. Africa in e Transvaal, Swaziland and Natal.

The distinctive form andrewi, named in 1966 from apparent migrants and not recorded since, sometimes is treated as a separate species.
 Small; crown, neck dark brown; whitish superciliary, dark eye mask; glossy blue-black back, gray-brown rump; white, grayish or buffy below; tail deeply forked.  Differs from typical species of Hirundo by nesting in a burrow, either dug by the birds in the ground or termite mound, or in an old rodent hole, kingfisher or bee-eater burrow; nest of dry grass; solitary or in a small colony.  Eggs 1-4, white.

Sheldon and Winkler (1993. Auk 110:798-824) found that Cheramoeca and Pseudohirundo griseopyga are closest relatives and are the sister group "to all the other core martins".
 Riparia:  Sand Martins. N. S. America, Eurasia, Africa, Madagascar.

All nest in tunnels in sandy or gravel banks.  The only species in the New World is the Bank Swallow or Sand Martin (R. riparia); 10-17 cm., grayish brown above, throat whitish, gray-brown breast band, white below.  Also occurs in Eurasia, winters in Africa.  Breeds in colonies; nest of grass, stems, feathers, at end of 2-3 foot tunnel in a bank, dug by the birds, or in an old kingfisher burrow; eggs 3-7, white.  R. paludicola (Africa, se,e Asia, Philippines) is similar to riparia, but with pale grayish or whitish throat and gray breast, without breast band.  R. congica (Congo River, w Africa) like riparia, but breast band indistinct, nest as in riparia.  R. cincta (17 cm) is brown above, white below with brown chest band; broad, white superciliary, black lores; tail square.

Riparia riparia  SAND MARTIN.  Open and partly open areas, usually near water.

These two groups may be separate species.
 R. r. riparia.  From British Isles and n Scandinavia e across n Russia and n Siberia to Anadyrland and Kamchatka, s to n Mediterranean region, incl. Sicily, Turkey, Near East, ne Egypt incl. Nile Valley, Iraq, w Iran, Transcaucasus, s Siberia from Altai e to Sakhalin, n Manchuria and n Japan on Hokkaido; from w,c Alaska, c Yukon, nw,sc Mackenzie and n Saskatchewan e across c Canada to s Labrador and sw Newfoundland, and s to s Alaska w to Aleutian Is., s to s Calif., w Nevada, n Utah, Colorado, s New Mexico, s Texas, Arkansas, n Alabama, Tennessee, nw N. Carolina, sc S. Carolina and e Virginia.
 R. r. diluta.  N Iran, n to Kirghiz steppes, Afghanistan, Pakistan, n India from Kashmir e to s Nepal, Bhutan and n W. Bengal. w,n,sc China from Sinkiang e to Heilungkiang, s to Yunnan, Hupeh and Fukien.

Riparia paludicola  PLAIN MARTIN.  Open and semi-open areas, usually near water.  W Morocco; locally from Senegambia, s Mali, s Niger and Nigeria e through Cameroon, s Chad, C. African Rep.,  and s Sudan to Ethiopia, s through e Africa w to e Zaire, Zambia and Angola and s to s S. Africa.  Hills, 500-1800 m of nw,e Madagascar.  From s Turkestan, e Afghanistan and Pakistan e to n,c India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Burma, sw China, nw,ne Thailand, Laos, n Vietnam, Taiwan and the Philippine is. of Luzon and Negros.
Riparia congica  CONGO MARTIN.  Open and semi-open areas, usually near rivers.  W Africa along lower and middle Congo River in the Congo Republic and ne to nc Zaire.
Riparia cincta  BANDED MARTIN.  Open grassland, usually near water.  From Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon, Príncipe I., e to Ethiopia and s Somalia, and s (exc. deserts) to s S. Africa.

Sheldon and Winkler (1993. Auk 110:808) found that the Banded Martin is more closely related to Phedina borbonica than to Riparia and tentatively recommended the recognition of Neophedina  for cincta.  Sheldon (pers. comm.) suggests that "this may be going too far" and that further studies are planned.

Phedina:  P. borbonica is gray-brown above, head, neck; white throat brown-streaked; below white with brown streaks; short, wide wings; notched tail.  Nest a bowl of twigs, grass, in a rock crevice, cave, building; often in small colonies; eggs 3-4, roseate white with light brown spots mainly at large end.  P. brazzae is dark brown above, silky white below with large, dark, elongate spots or streaks.  Colonial; nest in a ca. 50 cm tunnel in sandy river bank; egg chamber lined with grass, feathers; eggs white.
Phedina borbonica  MASCARENE MARTIN.  Open areas above forest.  Lowlands to 1800 m in Madagascar and the Mascarene Is. of Mauritius and Réunion; recorded on Pemba I.(off Tanzania), in Malawi and c Mozambique.

Phedina brazzae  BRAZZA'S MARTIN.  Open or semi-open areas, usually near rivers.  Congo Rep., sw,sc Zaire and ne Angola.  Assigned to Phedinopsis by Dowsett and Forbes-Watson (1993, p. 194).  Dowsett and Dowsett-Lemaire (1993, p. 348) also consider it "best to recognise Phedinopsis ... although it could be that P. brazzae ought to be merged with Riparia (cf. Keith et al. 1992)." = Birds of Africa, vol. 4.
 Hirundo:  Barn and cliff swallows, crag-martins, etc.  Hirundo includes Petrochelidon, Ptyonoprogne, Cecropis and Hylochelidon.  Delichon is closely related to Petrochelidon and could be included in Hirundo.  The species griseopyga, variously placed in Hirundo or Pseudhirundo, has been found to be most closely related to Cheramoeca leucosternus and is placed next to that species (Sheldon and Winkler 1993. Auk 110:806).  The members of Hirundo build mud nests of different types, described below.

Hirundo rupestris group:  Crag-martins (Ptyonoprogne).  H. rupestris, obsoleta, fuligula, concolor.  The crag-martins occur in s. Eurasia, n,c,se Africa, to s,se Asia; rocky terrain and around buildings.  They lack glossy plumage; brown above, paler below; tail forked with white spots.  Nest cup-shaped of mud; eggs spotted with reddish.  Voice and incubation behavior like H. rustica.
Hirundo rupestris  EURASIAN CRAG-MARTIN.  Rocky terrain, towns.  Lowlands to high mts. from Iberian Pen., s France, Switzerland, s Germany, Austria, Balkans and Greece, incl. most islands exc. Crete, and n Africa from Morocco e to Tunisia; ne Libya, e through Turkey, Near East, n Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Crimea, Caucasus, Transcaucasus, Transcaspia e to Turkestan and e Kazakhstan, sw Siberia in the Altai, w,n,sc China, n Mongolia, and Himalayas 500-4600 m in n Pakistan, n India from Kashmir e to Bhutan, and se Tibet.

Hirundo obsoleta  PALE CRAG-MARTIN.  Cliffs, crags, ravines, towns.  Sahara from s Morocco, c Algeria, s Libya and n Egypt s to Sahel region at ca. lat. 15°N; n Somalia; from ne Egypt on the Sinai Pen., Israel, Jordan, Arabia and c,s Iran e across sc Eurasia through s Afghanistan to Pakistan and (formerly) sw India in w Gujarat.  Often merged with fuligula because of a series of intermediate populations across the Saharan region, but the relationship is uncertain.  In Somalia populations of obsoleta occur without evidence of intermediacy toward fuligula in nearby Ethiopia.  Sometimes considered conspecific with rupestris, but they are sympatric in Israel.
Hirundo fuligula  ROCK MARTIN.  Cliffs, crags, ravines, towns.

H. f. pusilla.  From Senegambia, s Mali, Sierra Leone and Liberia e to Cameroon, s Chad, C. African Rep. and s Sudan to Ethiopia and s, w to e Zaire, to Zambia, Zimbabwe and c Mozambique.
 H. f. fuligula.  S Africa n to Angola, Botswana and s Mozambique.

Hirundo concolor  DUSKY CRAG-MARTIN.  Rocky terrain, crags, buildings, towns.  Lowlands to 1800 m in India, c,e,s Burma incl. Tenasserim, sw China, nw Thailand, n Laos, n Vietnam and Malaya.
 Hirundo rustica group:  H. rustica, lucida, aethiopica, angolensis, albigularis, domicola, tahitica, neoxena.  Species limits within this group (or superspecies) are not well understood; the member species are closely related.  Members of this group occur nearly worldwide, with most species in Africa.  H. rustica, the Barn Swallow, is one of the most familiar birds in the world; it breeds in Eurasia and  N. America, and winters to Africa, S. America and Australia, and recently has been found nesting in S. Africa.  H. tahitica breeds in se Asia, Philippines, Indonesia, s Polynesia; neoxena Australia, New Zealand; domicola in sw India; the others in Africa.  All adults are glossy blue above and mostly white below, some buffy or rufous below; often with rufous on the forehead and throat; some with a blue breast band (rustica, albigularis); tails usually dark with white spots, some with long outer rectrices.  All build mud nests, cup-shaped or with a short tunnel entrance, plastered to an overhanging rock, eaves or inside a building.

Hirundo rustica  BARN SWALLOW.  Open country, usually near water, farmland, towns.

The two subspecies groups have been considered to be separate species - and they may be.
 H. r. rustica.  From s Iceland, Faroes, British Isles and n Scandinavia e across nw,c Russia and c Siberia to Kamchatka and Commander and Kuril islands, and s to Mediterranean region, and from Morocco e to n Egypt in the Nile Valley and Sinai Pen., Arabia, Middle East, n Pakistan, n India, China, Taiwan, Lan Ÿu I., and Japan.  Recent report of nesting in its wintering area in S. Africa.
 H. r. erythrogaster.  From sc,se Alaska, s Yukon, w Mackenzie and nw,ec Saskatchewan e across s Canada to s Newfoundland, and s to Baja Calif., Jalisco, Michoacán, México, Distrito Federal, c Puebla, n Veracruz, Gulf coast, nc Florida and se Georgia; also ne Argentina.  Possibly nests in its wintering area in Argentina.

Hirundo lucida  RED-CHESTED SWALLOW.  Open country, towns.  From Senegambia, Sierra Leone and s Mali e to n Ghana; w,ec Zaire in the lower and middle Congo Valley; nw,c,sw Ethiopia.
Hirundo aethiopica  ETHIOPIAN SWALLOW.  Open country, towns.  From s Niger, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon e to n C. African Rep., Sudan, Ethiopia and n Somalia, s to Uganda, Kenya and ne Tanzania.  Doesn't overlap with lucida or angolensis where their ranges adjoin.
Hirundo angolensis  ANGOLA SWALLOW.  Open country, towns.  From Gabon and w Zaire s to Angola, n Namibia and e to e Zaire, Burundi, Uganda, w Kenya, w Tanzania, n Malawi and n Zambia.
Hirundo albigularis  WHITE-THROATED SWALLOW.  Open country, towns.  From c,e Angola, se Zaire, Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Mozambique s to S. Africa (absent from w Namibia).  Breeds close to angolensis in w Angola with no sign of intergradation.

Hirundo domicola  HILL SWALLOW.  Grassy slopes, towns.  Hills, 700-2400 m, of sw peninsular India from Nilgiri Hills to s Kerala and Sri Lanka.  Often included in H. tahitica.
Hirundo tahitica  PACIFIC SWALLOW.  Open country, often near water, towns.

Sympatric with rustica on Taiwan.
 H. t. javanica.  Lowlands to 1000 m in the Andaman Is.; from se Asia on the coasts from Burma e to Cochinchina in s Vietnam; mts. of Malaya; Taiwan and Ryukyu Is., s (incl. most adj. small is.) to Indonesia incl. many small islands, Philippines and New Guinea and D'Entrecasteaux Arch.
 H. t. tahitica.  Bismarck Arch., Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Solomon, Santa Cruz, Banks, Loyalty and Society islands, Fiji and Tonga.

Hirundo neoxena  WELCOME SWALLOW.  Open country, often near water, towns.  From cs,sc W. Australia n to Port Hedland, s N. Territory at Alice Springs, and Queensland except extreme nw n of Mt. Isa, s throughout the rest of Australia and Tasmania; New Zealand since 1958.  Sometimes included in H. tahitica.
Hirundo smithii  WIRE-TAILED SWALLOW.  Savanna near water, towns.

Blue back, rufous crown, black mask, white below; extended shafts of outer rectrices = "wires".
 H. s. smithii.  From Senegambia e through s Mali, n Ivory Coast, n Ghana, n,c Nigeria, Cameroon, C. African Rep., n,e Zaire, c,s Sudan, Ethiopia and w Somalia, and s (exc. forested w,c) to Angola, n Namibia, n Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and ne S. Africa in ne Transvaal, Swaziland and ne Natal.
 H. s. filifera.  Lowlands and mts. to 2700 m from Tadzhikistan, Afghanistan and n Pakistan, e through India to Burma, nw,ne Thailand, Laos and c Vietnam in s Annam.

Hirundo nigrita  WHITE-THROATED BLUE SWALLOW.  Forest rivers, mangroves.  Forested areas and coasts from Sierra Leone and Liberia e to s Nigeria, s Cameroon, sw C. African Rep. and n,ne Zaire, and s to Gabon, Cabinda and s Zaire, exc. se.

Dark blue above, lighter blue below with white throat and tail patches.

Hirundo atrocaerulea  group:  H. nigrorufa.  Sw, c Africa.  Blue above, rufous below.  H. atrocaerulea.  Mts. se Africa.  Dark blue with white spots on sides of rump; long "wires" extending from outer rectrices.  Nest a grassy cup mixed with mud.
Hirundo nigrorufa  BLACK-AND-RUFOUS SWALLOW.  Open dry savanna.  Cw,c,ne Angola, se Zaire and n,ne Zambia.
Hirundo atrocaerulea  BLUE SWALLOW.  Grassland.  Mts. from Rwanda, Uganda, sc Tanzania and Malawi s through e Zimbabwe, Zambia and w Mozambique to ne S. Africa in e Transvaal, Swaziland, Natal and Lesotho.
 Hirundo dimidiata group:  Africa.  H. leucosoma glossy dark blue above, white below with white wing patches; shallow forked tail; megaensis glossy blue above, white below; tail white with black tips; dimidiata like megaensis, but with a blue-black tail and gray breast.

Hirundo leucosoma  PIED-WINGED SWALLOW.  Savanna, towns.  From Senegambia and Sierra Leone e to Nigeria.
Hirundo megaensis  WHITE-TAILED SWALLOW.  Acacia short grass savanna.  Highlands 1200-2300 m of s Ethiopia.
Hirundo dimidiata  PEARL-BREASTED SWALLOW.  Open savanna, towns.  From Angola, se Zaire, s Tanzania and Malawi s through Namibia, Zambia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and cw Mozambique to s S. Africa (except Natal, highveld grassland and ne lowlands).
 Hirundo daurica group:  H. cucullata, abyssinica, semirufa, senegalensis, daurica, domicella, striolata.  These species often placed in Cecropis.  H. daurica occurs in s Eurasia and Africa; striolata in se Asia, Lesser Sundas, Philippines; others in Africa.  All have long outer rectrices, rufous rump, glossy blue back; white, buffy or rufous (senegalensis) below, most with dark streaks on breast and belly.  Nest of mud with an entrance tunnel, plastered to an overhanging surface.

Hirundo cucullata  GREATER STRIPED-SWALLOW.  Open country, towns.  From s Angola, Botswana and Namibia to Zambia, s Zaire, Zimbabwe, sw Mozambique and S. Africa (exc. ne Natal).
Hirundo abyssinica  LESSER STRIPED-SWALLOW.  Savanna, towns.  From Senegambia and Sierra Leone e across s Mali, s Niger, s Chad and s Sudan to Ethiopia and s Somalia, and s to s Angola, ne Namibia, n,e Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and e S. Africa in Transvaal, Swaziland, Natal, c,n Orange Free State and se Cape Province.