What's the difference between
a swallow
and a house martin?

What's the difference between house martins and
swallows?

• Both house martins and swallows feed on insects that they catch in the air. Both visit the UK in the summer and migrant to Africa for the winter.
  
  
• Swallows are larger than house martins but this is not easy to gauge when seen in flight.
  
  
• Swallows have a distinctive red patch under their chins. House martins have white chins.
  
  
• House martins have white, often feathery, legs. Swallows have brown legs.
  
  
• Swallows can have an off-white belly and underwings in comparison with house martin bellies which are always bright white. 
  
  
• In flight, swallow tails are clearly forked while house martin tails form a solid triangle.