Population status

Barn Swallow
(Hirundo rustica)

The most reliable source of information for the Barn Swallow is the Breeding Bird Survey (BBS). Although the species' breeding range extends north of the area covered by the BBS, Barn Swallows only occur sporadically in this area, often in association with human habitation and roads (Lepage 2007). The BBS reveals a significant decrease across the entire breeding range both in Canada and to a lesser extent in most of the United States. Although the annual indices from the current BBS analysis do not show strong changes in the temporal pattern of decline (see graph below) other analyses, using the same data set, do (e.g. Nebel et al. 2010; Smith et al. 2015). Declines are seen in all Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs) and appear particularly severe in the Boreal Hardwood Transition and the Atlantic Northern Forest but also in the west (Northern Pacific Rainforest and Great Basin BCRs). Results for all BCRs with reasonably reliable data are displayed below.

Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) - Canadian analysis

Additional information on: Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) - Canadian analysis

References

• Blancher, P.J., R.D. Phoenix, D.S. Badzinski, M.D. Cadman, T.L. Crewe, C.M. Downes, D. Fillman, C.M. Francis, J. Hughes, D.J.T. Hussell, D. Lepage, J.D. McCracken, D.K. McNicol, B.A. Pond, R.K. Ross, R. Russell, L.A. Venier and R.C. Weeber. 2009. Population trend status of Ontario’s forest birds. The Forestry Chronicle 85(2):184-201.
• Brown, C.R., and M.B. Brown. 1999. Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Brown, C.R., and M.B. Brown. 1999. Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. (Link)
• COSEWIC. 2011a. COSEWIC Assessment and Status Report on the Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. ix + 37 pp. COSEWIC. 2011a. COSEWIC Assessment and Status Report on the Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. ix + 37 pp. (Link)
• Lepage, D. 2007. Barn Swallow. pp. 398-399 in: Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Ontario, 2001-2005. Cadman, M.D., D.A. Sutherland, G.G. Beck, D. Lepage and A.R. Couturier, Eds. Bird Studies Canada, Environment Canada, Ontario Field Ornithologists, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, and Ontario Nature, Toronto, Ontario.
• Nebel, S., A.M. Mills, J.D. McCracken and P.D. Taylor. 2010. Declines of aerial insectivores in North America follow a geographic gradient. Avian Conservation and Ecology 5(2): 1. Nebel, S., A.M. Mills, J.D. McCracken and P.D. Taylor. 2010. Declines of aerial insectivores in North America follow a geographic gradient. Avian Conservation and Ecology 5(2): 1. (Link)
• Smith, A.C., M-A.R. Hudson, C.M. Downes, and C.M. Francis. 2015. Change points in the population trends of aerial-insectivorous birds in North America: Synchronized in time across species and regions. PLOS ONE 10(7): e0130768. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0130768. Smith, A.C., M-A.R. Hudson, C.M. Downes, and C.M. Francis. 2015. Change points in the population trends of aerial-insectivorous birds in North America: Synchronized in time across species and regions. PLOS ONE 10(7): e0130768. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0130768. (Link)