Eurasian Crag Martin

Ptyonoprogne rupestris (Scopoli, 1769)

14–15 cmLength32 cmWingspan20 gWeight

This gray-brown martin does not fly particularly fast around mountain cliffs and shows white patches when it spreads its tail.

Busiest months: November–March · Most records: Spain, Portugal, China

Looks like Dusky Crag Martin, Sand Martin

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

Upperparts gray-brown, underparts pale
Tail short and square, with white patches near the tail tip
Undertail-coverts and underwing coverts blackish
Bill small and mainly black; legs and feet brownish-pink

Male, female and young

Sexes similar; juvenile has yellowish-brown tips to the feathers of the head, upperparts and upperwing coverts.

Voice

A short, high-pitched “pli”, as well as “piieh” and “tshir”.

Similar species

Dusky Crag Martin

Eurasian Crag Martin is larger and paler than Dusky Crag Martin, especially on the underparts, and has conspicuously larger white patches on the tail.

Sand Martin

Eurasian Crag Martin is larger than Sand Martin, has white patches on the tail, and lacks a brown breast-band.

Where and when it's recorded

Eurasian Crag Martin has been recorded at 691 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 58 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

Monfragüe PN – Peña Falcón/Salto del GitanoSpain2,613 records
Desembocadura del Guadalhorce – ÁreaSpain1,796 records
Monfragüe PN – Portilla del TiétarSpain1,647 records

More places

Casares – CastilloSpain1,469 records
PN Sudoeste Alentejano e Costa Vicentina – CabranosaPortugal1,005 records
Zamora – Río DueroSpain866 records
Monfragüe PNSpain848 records
Marjal dels Moros – ÁreaSpain842 records
PN Vale do Guadiana – MértolaPortugal662 records
Hoces Ebro Rudrón PNat – Molino del CantoSpain617 records

Countries and regions with the most records

Spain Portugal China Morocco Italy France Mongolia Bulgaria

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The Eurasian crag martin or just crag martin (Ptyonoprogne rupestris) is a small passerine bird in the swallow family. It breeds in the mountains of southern Europe, northwestern Africa and across the Palearctic.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the Eurasian Crag Martin?

The Eurasian Crag Martin is about 14–15 cm long, with a wingspan of 32 cm and weighs around 20 g.

Where does the Eurasian Crag Martin live?

Its breeding range: Palearctic: Mediterranean region through South Asia to Mongolia and eastern China. It is most often recorded in Spain, Portugal and China.