Bird

Bank Swallow

Riparia riparia

Passes through Alabama on migration. Found in all 67 counties, across 19 habitats.

Here: On migration
Nesting: Not known to nest here
Range: All 67 counties
Habitats: 19

Adult Bank Swallow, whole bird — **Adult**. (c) SteveM4560, some rights reserved (CC BY). CC BY. iNaturalist photo 255636632. iNaturalist large derivative; no local crop or retouch.

At a glance

Group: Birds
Here: On migration
Nesting: Not known to nest here
Range: All 67 counties
Habitats: 19
Habitat models: Summer

Where it lives

The places its habitat model includes. It is not found everywhere a habitat occurs.

Habitats in Alabama 19

Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 19

SummerUnconsolidated Shore (Beach/Dune); Florida Panhandle Beach Vegetation; East Gulf Coastal Plain Dune and Coastal Grassland; Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain Interdunal WetlandGeorge Catlin, White Sand Bluffs, on Santa Rosa Island, Near Pensacola (1834-35): high white dunes with scattered clumps of dune plants above the Gulf. Shown: Santa Rosa Island near Pensacola, Florida, a neighboring state.White Sand Bluffs, on Santa Rosa Island, Near Pensacola, George Catlin (1796-1872), 1834-1835. Public domain. Source record.

SummerMartin Johnson Heade, On the San Sebastian River (c. 1883-90): a tidal river winding through flat marsh under storm clouds at sunset. Shown: San Sebastian River, St. Augustine, Florida, a neighboring state.On the San Sebastian River, Floridalabel QS:Len,"On the San Sebastian River, Florida", Martin Johnson Heade, c. 1883-1890. Public domain. Source record.

SummerCentral Interior and Appalachian Shrub-Herbaceous Wetland SystemsMartin Johnson Heade, The Great Florida Marsh (1886): open marsh and lily-dotted water beneath live oaks and cabbage palms. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: Florida (Heade, The Great Florida Marsh, 1886; North Carolina Museum of Art), a neighboring state.The Great Florida Marsh, Martin Johnson Heade, 1886. Public domain. Source record.

SummerEast Gulf Coastal Plain Savanna and Wet PrairieGeorge Catlin, Beautiful Savannah in the Pine Woods of Florida (1834-35): an open grassy savanna with a shallow pond, ringed by tall pines, with palmettos and red wildflowers. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: Pine woods of Florida (George Catlin, 1834-35; Smithsonian American Art Museum), a neighboring state.Beautiful Savannah in the Pine Woods of Florida, George Catlin, 1834-1835. Public domain. Source record.

SummerOpen Water (Fresh)Martin Johnson Heade, Florida Sunrise: still water and a palm-fringed shore glowing at dawn. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: Florida (Heade, Florida Sunrise, c. 1890-1900), a neighboring state.Florida Sunrisetitle QS:P1476,en:"Florida Sunrise"label QS:Len,"Florida Sunrise", Martin Johnson Heade, c. 1890-1900. Public domain. Source record.

SummerOpen Water (Brackish/Salt)Thomas Moran, Fort George Island (1878): a tidal shore of wet sand and shallow water at the river mouth, with cabbage palms and a beached ship. Shown: Fort George Island, Florida (Thomas Moran, 1878; Smithsonian American Art Museum), a neighboring state.Fort George Island, Florida, Thomas Moran, 1878. Public domain. Source record.

SummerCumberland Riverscour; South-Central Interior Small Stream and RiparianWinslow Homer, Blue Spring, Florida (1890): clear blue spring water under overhanging palms. Shown: Blue Spring, Florida (Winslow Homer, 1890; National Gallery of Art), a neighboring state.Blue Spring, Florida, Winslow Homer, 1890. Public domain. Source record.

Coastal Plain seepage bogs

Open, wet, seepage-fed bogs of the Coastal Plain and Sandhills, often with pitcher plants.

SummerSouthern Coastal Plain Herbaceous Seepage Bog

Disturbed and introduced wetlands

Wet ground taken over by weedy or introduced plants after disturbance, such as common reed, Chinese tallow or tamarisk stands; the upland counterpart is roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.

Summer

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.

SummerSouth-Central Interior Small Stream and Riparian

Salt and brackish marshes

Coastal marshes flooded by salty or brackish tides.

SummerMississippi Sound Salt and Brackish Tidal Marsh

Wet meadows

Open, wet, grassy or sedgy ground that is not a bog.

SummerCentral Interior and Appalachian Shrub-Herbaceous Wetland Systems

SummerOnly within 250 m of water.Southern Piedmont CliffNamed place / source context. Shown: Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, Georgia, a neighboring state.Trees and rocks on Little Kennesaw Mountain., Unidentified in HFC record, undated. Public domain. Source record.

SummerOnly within 250 m of water.East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Open Understory ModifierGeorge Inness, Georgia Pines (1890): tall, straight pines over an open, grassy floor in a south Georgia pine woods. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: Georgia pine woods (George Inness, 1890; site not named), a neighboring state.Georgia Pines, George Inness (1825-1894), 1890. Public domain. Source record.

Forest edges and thickets

Borders of forests, clearings and shrubby thickets.

SummerOnly within 250 m of water.Disturbed/Successional - Shrub Regeneration; Harvested Forest - Shrub Regeneration

Glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone

Open, thin-soil openings and rock on limestone, dolomite or other lime-rich rock, including cedar glades.

SummerOnly within 250 m of water.Southern Interior Calcareous Cliff; East Gulf Coastal Plain Dry Chalk Bluff; Ridge and Valley Calcareous Valley Bottom Glade and Woodland; Central Interior Highlands Calcareous Glade and Barrens

Granite and other acidic rock outcrops

Bare or thin-soil rock on granite, gneiss, sandstone, quartzite and similar acidic rock, including granite flatrocks and domes.

SummerOnly within 250 m of water.Southern Interior Acid Cliff; Southern Appalachian Granitic Dome; Cumberland Sandstone Glade and Barrens

Prairies and grasslands

Open, grass-dominated places kept open by fire, grazing or thin soil, from tallgrass prairie to Piedmont prairies.

SummerOnly within 250 m of water.East Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Herbaceous Modifier; East Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Prairie and Woodland

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

SummerOnly within 250 m of water.Developed, Open Space; Cultivated Cropland; Pasture/Hay; Disturbed/Successional - Grass/Forb Regeneration; Utility Swath - Herbaceous; Disturbed, Non-specific; Ruderal Upland - Old Field

Other habitats in its models (85)

Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in Alabama. Those recorded in Alabama first, the rest by region.

In Alabama 1

Southern Piedmont Glade and Barrens Summer, only within 250 m of water.

Elsewhere in the South (43)

Appalachian Shale Barrens Summer, only within 250 m of water.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Summer.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Salt and Brackish Tidal Marsh Summer.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Freshwater Marsh Summer.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Salt and Brackish Marsh Summer.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Indian River Lagoon Tidal Marsh Summer.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Large Natural Lakeshore Summer.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Sea Island Beach Summer.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Beach Summer.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Dune and Maritime Grassland Summer.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Xeric River Dune Summer.
Central and Upper Texas Coast Dune and Coastal Grassland Summer.
Central Florida Herbaceous Pondshore Summer.
Central Florida Herbaceous Seep Summer.
Central Interior Highlands Dry Acidic Glade and Barrens Summer, only within 250 m of water.
Edwards Plateau Limestone Savanna and Woodland Summer, only within 250 m of water.
Florida Big Bend Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Summer.
Florida Big Bend Salt-Brackish Tidal Marsh Summer.
Florida Dry Prairie Summer, only within 250 m of water.
Florida Peninsula Inland Scrub Summer, only within 250 m of water.
Floridian Highlands Freshwater Marsh Summer.
Louisiana Beach Summer.
Nashville Basin Limestone Glade Summer, only within 250 m of water.
South Florida Everglades Sawgrass Marsh Summer.
South Florida Freshwater Slough and Gator Hole Summer.
South Florida Shell Hash Beach Summer.
South Florida Wet Marl Prairie Summer.
Southeast Florida Beach Summer.
Southeastern Great Plains Tallgrass Prairie Summer, only within 250 m of water.
Southern and Central Appalachian Bog and Fen Summer.
Southern Appalachian Montane Cliff Summer, only within 250 m of water.
Southern Appalachian Rocky Summit Summer, only within 250 m of water.
Southern Blackland Tallgrass Prairie Summer, only within 250 m of water.
Southwest Florida Beach Summer.
Southwest Florida Dune and Coastal Grassland Summer.
Tamaulipan Calcareous Thornscrub Summer, only within 250 m of water.
Tamaulipan Mixed Deciduous Thornscrub Summer, only within 250 m of water.
Texas Coastal Bend Beach Summer.
Texas Saline Coastal Prairie Summer.
Texas-Louisiana Coastal Prairie Summer, only within 250 m of water.
Upper Texas Coast Beach Summer.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Calcareous Prairie Summer, only within 250 m of water.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Calcareous Prairie Summer, only within 250 m of water.

Northeast (7)

Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Fresh and Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Summer.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Tidal Salt Marsh Summer.
Central Appalachian Alkaline Glade and Woodland Summer, only within 250 m of water.
Central Appalachian Pine-Oak Rocky Woodland Summer, only within 250 m of water.
North-Central Appalachian Acidic Cliff and Talus Summer, only within 250 m of water.
North-Central Appalachian Circumneutral Cliff and Talus Summer, only within 250 m of water.
Northeastern Interior Pine Barrens Summer, only within 250 m of water.

Midwest (7)

Central Interior Acidic Cliff and Talus Summer, only within 250 m of water.
Central Interior Calcareous Cliff and Talus Summer, only within 250 m of water.
Central Mixedgrass Prairie Summer, only within 250 m of water.
Central Tallgrass Prairie Summer, only within 250 m of water.
North-Central Interior Oak Savanna Summer, only within 250 m of water.
North-Central Interior Sand and Gravel Tallgrass Prairie Summer, only within 250 m of water.
North-Central Oak Barrens Summer, only within 250 m of water.

Land cover and other classes (27)

Arkansas Valley Prairie and Woodland Summer, only within 250 m of water.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Herbaceous Wetland Summer.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Depression Pondshore Summer.
Barren Land Summer, only within 250 m of water.
Developed, Low Intensity Summer, only within 250 m of water.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Woodland Modifier Summer, only within 250 m of water.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Herbaceous Modifier Summer.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Depression Pondshore Summer.
Eastern Great Plains Wet Meadow, Prairie, and Marsh Summer.
Eastern Highland Rim Prairie and Barrens - Dry Modifier Summer, only within 250 m of water.
Harvested Forest - Grass/Forb Regeneration Summer, only within 250 m of water.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Annual Grassland Summer, only within 250 m of water.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Forbland Summer, only within 250 m of water.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland Summer, only within 250 m of water.
Modified/Managed Southern Tall Grassland Summer, only within 250 m of water.
Open Water (Aquaculture) Summer.
Quarries, Mines, Gravel Pits and Oil Wells Summer, only within 250 m of water.
Recently Burned Grassland Summer, only within 250 m of water.
Recently Burned Shrubland Summer, only within 250 m of water.
South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Herbaceous Modifier Summer.
Southern Appalachian Grass and Shrub Bald - Herbaceous Modifier Summer, only within 250 m of water.
Southern Appalachian Grass and Shrub Bald - Shrub Modifier Summer, only within 250 m of water.
Tamaulipan Mesquite Upland Scrub Summer, only within 250 m of water.
Texas-Louisiana Coastal Prairie Slough Summer.
Unconsolidated Shore Summer.
Unconsolidated Shore (Lake/River/Pond) Summer.
Western Great Plains Floodplain Systems Summer.

All habitats

Seasons in Alabama

Migratory: does not nest here, in all 67 counties.

Also found in its main habitats

Its main habitats in Alabama, by how much of its habitat model each one is, with the birds most characteristic of each and the plants that grow wild there. Shared habitat, not food.

Bank Swallow uses many habitats in Alabama; these are its 3 most characteristic.