n.
Any of several species of songbirds in the family Hirundinidae.
In the U.S., the name refers to the purple martin ( Progne subis ), at 8 in. (20 cm) long, the largest U.S. swallow . The sand martin, or bank swallow ( Riparia riparia ), a 5-in. (12-cm) brown-and-white bird, breeds throughout the Northern Hemisphere, nesting in sandbank burrows. The house martin ( Delichon urbica ), blue-black above and white-rumped, is common in Europe. The African river martin ( Pseudochelidon eurystomina ) of the Congo is black, with red eyes and bill.