Please help me identify this bird! Swallow? House Martin? Sand Martin? (1 Viewer)

[Birderloz]

https://flic.kr/p/2p1q1eq

Is this a swallow? I spotted it in Port Meadow, Oxford today (6th Sept 2023)

It kind of looks like a swallow, but has a short tail, and very little colour in it’s face.

I would really appreciate any help with this.

Many thanks
Lawrence

 

[qwerty5]

Barn Swallow

 

[THE_FERN]

Yes barn swallow, or as we call them, "swallow"

(Tail length varies individually and by age and sex, with males having the longest streamers iirc)

 

[Butty]

short tail, and very little colour in it’s face

Because it's a juvenile.
Welcome to BF.

 

[KC Foggin]

Yes, one of my all time faves - Barn Swallow.

Hi there Birderloz and a warm welcome to you from those of us on BirdForum. Enjoy

 

[hopster]

Nice picture and I suspect not easy to get!

I am a relative novice for accurate bird IDs and so I was surprised to hear the experienced voices here say this is a Swallow - I thought the tail was too short but I have learned something today.

 

[Birderloz]

Thank you everyone for your help. Much appreciated!! 😃🙏

 

[Birderloz]

Nice picture and I suspect not easy to get!

I am a relative novice for accurate bird IDs and so I was surprised to hear the experienced voices here say this is a Swallow - I thought the tail was too short but I have learned something today.

Pleased I’m not the only who was a little confused by this bird!

This kind of photo is much easier to get now with my new Sony A9II 😁

 

[lockbreeze926]

Certainly a (Barn) Swallow and a great photo.

 

[Kilrymont]

https://flic.kr/p/2p1q1eq

Is this a swallow? I spotted it in Port Meadow, Oxford today (6th Sept 2023)

It kind of looks like a swallow, but has a short tail, and very little colour in it’s face.

I would really appreciate any help with this.

Many thanks
Lawrence

Looks to me like a very excellent shot of a Swallow. Seems to have “Barn” added these days on forums, which I’d thought was an American term for their version of swallow, to distinguish theirs from ours. But maybe that’s wrong. (I get species wrong sometimes on Flickr, indeed have been known to bleat for assistance especially with small nondescripts - gulls can be tricky too as there’s a fair number of possibilities around!)

 

[aucarius]

Looks to me like a very excellent shot of a Swallow. Seems to have “Barn” added these days on forums, which I’d thought was an American term for their version of swallow, to distinguish theirs from ours. But maybe that’s wrong. (I get species wrong sometimes on Flickr, indeed have been known to bleat for assistance especially with small nondescripts - gulls can be tricky too as there’s a fair number of possibilities around!)

The American version of swallow is the same species as "ours" but in America there are other swallows, e.g., Tree, Cave, Bank, hence Barn is added for its full name to be specific, & same generally now applies in the UK.

 

[delia todd]

Hi Lawrence and a warm welcome to you from all the Staff and Moderators.

Kilrymont is quite correct re the naming. However, generally the Barn Swallow is the only one we see in the UK, but Red-rumped Swallows do make an appearance (I think generally in the autumn?), so we seem to be getting more used to adding "barn" now.

I'm sure you will enjoy it here and I look forward to hearing your news.