The
barn swallow (
Hirundo rustica) is the most widespread species of
swallow in the world. It is a distinctive
passerine bird with blue upperparts, a long, deeply forked
tail and curved, pointed wings. It is found in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas. In
Anglophone Europe it is just called the
swallow; in Northern Europe it is the only common species called a "
swallow" rather than a "
martin".