Sand Martin

The Sand Martin is a migratory passerine bird in the swallow family. It has a wide range in summer, embracing practically the whole of Europe and the Mediterranean countries, part of northern Asia and also North America. It winters in eastern and southern Africa, South America and South Asia. It is known as Bank Swallow in North America, and as Collared Sand Martin in South Asia, and sometimes as European Sand Martin.

The Sand Martin is classified as Least Concern. Does not qualify for a more at risk category. Widespread and abundant taxa are included in this category.

Sand Martins nest in holes in sandy banks, which can be up to 1 m long and are excavated at a rate of 8-10 cm a day line Population and Distribution Population Trend: Wider Countryside Report Regional Trends: England English Regions Distribution: Atlas Maps (Help with the New Atlas) British Population Size: Summer: More

The Congo Sand Martin, Riparia congica, is a small passerine bird in the swallow family. It occurs only along the Congo River and its tributary, the Ubangi. It is fairly abundant within its restricted range. The habitat requirement of this non-migratory species is forested rivers with sandbanks for breeding. The Congo Sand Martin nests in colonies in February and March, with each pair excavating a tunnel in a sandbank about 1 m above the river. More

The Sand Martin (Riparia riparia) is a migratory passerine bird in the swallow family. It has a wide range in summer, embracing practically the whole of Europe and the Mediterranean countries, part of northern Asia and also North America. It winters in eastern and southern Africa, South America and South Asia. It is known as Bank Swallow in North America, and as Collared Sand Martin in South Asia, and sometimes as European Sand Martin. More

(Liverpool, England)SCORES of sand martins have set up home at Saltholme. More

The Sand Martin departs early, at any rate from its more northerly haunts. In August, the gatherings at the nightly roost increase enormously, though the advent and departure of passage birds causes great irregularity in numbers. Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sand_Martin" This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer. More

Sand Martins nest in colonies, burrowing into banks, quarries and cliffs, and usually near water. Both sexes construct the nest burrow and line the nest chamber with plant material and feathers. The eggs are white, smooth and glossy, and about 18 mm by 13 mm. Both parents take turns incubating the eggs and feeding the young. More

The 12 cm long Sand Martin is brown above, white below with a narrow brown band on the breast; the bill is black, the legs brown. The young have rufous tips to the coverts and margins to the secondaries. Its brown back, white throat, small size and quick jerky flight separate it at once from similar swallows, such as the House Martin (Delichon urbicum), the Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) or other species of Riparia. Only the Banded Martin (R. More

The Sand Martin is sociable in its nesting habits; from a dozen to many hundred pairs will nest close together, according to available space. The nests are at the end of tunnels of from a few inches to three or four feet in length, bored in sand or gravel. The actual nest is a litter of straw and feathers in a chamber at the end of the burrow; it soon becomes a hotbed of parasites. More

Sand martin at nest entrance Sand martins are so named, because they nest in sandy river banks or sandy coastal cliffs. The males dig burrows in the cliff and the females then do any final excavations needed to turn the burrows into nest chambers. What do they sound like? - 1. More

The Sand Martin is the smallest, most lightly built, member of the martin family and the only one which doesn't build a nest. Instead, it excavates holes in sand banks, creating small, busy colonies. In Britain they are easily identified because they are the only martins which look brown in flight rather than black. They don't have the white rump of a House Martin or the long tail streamers of a Swallow. More

Sand Martins breed in colonies on riverbanks, sandpits and steep cliffs. To listen to the song of the Sand Martin click here (.wav file 180Kb). Bird song kindly supplied by Geoffrey Sample. Status/distribution Sand Martins have a widespread but patchy distribution over Britain and Ireland. They are absent from large areas of south and east England where chalk and limestone formations predominate. More

* Sand martin species conservation programme group logoHeidelbergCement global The "sand martin" species conservation programme = Sand martins love steep rock faces. The freshly broken walls in the gravel and sand pits are coveted breeding grounds, as they make ideal nesting places for the small birds. Nevertheless, gravel extraction and breeding sites can interfere with each other if the animals settle down in places where quarrying is necessary for production reasons. More

Swallow to Sand Martin, then there might be a reason to consider this, but in the absence of that, it would be silly to have our migrant Bank Swallows morph into Sand martins when they cross the Colombian border. That being said, the genus Riparia is otherwise entirely Martins, so the logic of Common Moorhen applies. At the same time, we use Martin in the new world for an entirely different set of swallows, so the value of martin to set aside some subset of swallows is diminished. More

The RSPBSand martin at nest holeRSPB Minsmere sand martin bankSand martin in flight * A * B * C * D * E * F * G * H * I * J * K * L More

publicity exercises on environmental matters affecting Sand MartinsSand Martin turning in flight, front (ventral) view In Industry: from commenting on Sand Martin management plans to informing Government Agencies in Britain and Europe In Conservation: from assisting a single group with a single project to helping a Utility involved in several schemes over its estates We are, however, always pleased to hear your news on Sand Martins Sand Martin braking in flight, back (dorsal) view More

foraging Sand Martins throughout Britain that are unoccupied by them as such suitable habitats lack a breeding site, or there are suitable habitats that may be occupied by Sand Martins but such habitats have poor breeding sites. Two examples of these are shown below. Sand Martin nest holes in a pile of sand. Easily predated. The image to the right shows Sand Martin nest holes easily entered by ground predators and also easily damaged by rain. More

sand martinsand martin - swallow of the northern hemisphere that nests in tunnels dug in clay or sand banksbank martin, bank swallow, Riparia ripariamartin - any of various swallows with squarish or slightly forked tail and long pointed wings; migrate around Martinmasgenus Riparia, Riparia - a genus of Hirundinidae How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun More

Sand Martin / Bank Swallow ( Riparia riparia ) Sand Martin / Bank Swallow - Sand Martin / Bank Swallow information - Sand Martin / Bank Swallow facts The sand martin is distributed almost in every part of America. In the North America it can be found almost everywhere apart from the south-western parts. During winter the sand martins are in the South America because of the higher temperatures. More

Sand martin - Dictionary Definition and Overview = Sand martin : (noun) 1: swallow of the northern hemisphere that nests in tunnels dug in clay or sand banks Based on WordNet 2.0 - Martin \Mar"tin\, n. (Zol.) One of several species of swallows, usually having the tail less deeply forked than the tail of the common swallows. More

Breeding Sand Martins use a sand bank on the River Aire, West Yorkshire. More

sand martin population in the Carpathian Bend. In many European country the sand martin populations show decrease. In Hungary the population size has decreased with 50% since 1999, except the population along the river Tisza where the level was stable for this period. The regular and intense flood of the river Tisza during early spring, March-April, produce large number of fresh and proper breeding wall yearly. More