Bird Guide Swallows Northern Rough-winged Swallow
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Northern Rough-winged Swallow

Northern Rough-winged Swallow
At a Glance Range & Identification Conservation Back to Top

At a Glance

All bird guide text and rangemaps adapted from Lives of North American Birds by Kenn Kaufman© 1996, used by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Category
Swallow-like Birds, Swallows
IUCN Status
Least Concern
Habitat
Coasts and Shorelines, Desert and Arid Habitats, Forests and Woodlands, Freshwater Wetlands, Lakes, Ponds, and Rivers, Shrublands, Savannas, and Thickets
Region
Alaska and The North, California, Eastern Canada, Florida, Great Lakes, Mid Atlantic, New England, Northwest, Plains, Rocky Mountains, Southeast, Southwest, Texas, Western Canada
Behavior
Direct Flight, Flap/Glide, Swooping

Range & Identification

Migration & Range Maps

Description

Size
About the size of a Sparrow
Color
Brown, Gray, White
Wing Shape
Broad, Long, Pointed, Tapered
Tail Shape
Notched, Square-tipped

Songs and Calls

Call Pattern
Flat
Call Type
Buzz, Warble

Conservation

Change in Abundance Over Time
Drawing on more than a century of community science from the Christmas Bird Count (CBC), this chart shows how this species’ relative abundance has shifted in recent decades. Explore more and get involved in the CBC.

Climate Map

Audubon’s scientists have used 140 million bird observations and sophisticated climate models to project how climate change will affect the range of the Northern Rough-winged Swallow. Learn even more in Audubon’s Survival By Degrees project.

Climate Threats Facing the Northern Rough-winged Swallow

Choose a temperature scenario below to see which threats will affect this species as warming increases. The same climate change-driven threats that put birds at risk will affect other wildlife and people, too.