LC
Cave Swallow Petrochelidon fulva



Taxonomy

Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A., Fishpool, L.D.C., Boesman, P. and Kirwan, G.M. 2016. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 2: Passerines. Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.
SACC. 2005 and updates. A classification of the bird species of South America. Available at: #http://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm#.

IUCN Red List criteria met and history
Red List criteria met
Critically Endangered Endangered Vulnerable
- - -

Red List history
Year Category Criteria
2019 Least Concern
2016 Least Concern
2012 Least Concern
2009 Least Concern
2008 Least Concern
2004 Least Concern
2000 Lower Risk/Least Concern
1994 Lower Risk/Least Concern
1988 Lower Risk/Least Concern
Species attributes

Migratory status full migrant Forest dependency does not normally occur in forest
Land-mass type Average mass 24 g
Range

Estimate Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident) 4,580,000 km2 medium
Extent of Occurrence (non-breeding) 3,770,000 km2 medium
Severely fragmented? no -
Population
Estimate Data quality Derivation Year of estimate
Population size 6800000 mature individuals poor estimated 2016
Population trend increasing - estimated -
Rate of change over the past 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods) 721% - - -
Generation length 4.5 years - - -

Population justification: Partners in Flight estimate the global population to number 6.8 million mature individuals (A. Panjabi in litt. 2017).

Trend justification: This species has undergone a large and statistically significant increase over the last 50 years in North America (>1000% increase based on the North American Breeding Bird Survey [Sauer et al. 2017] and Partners in Flight [A. Panjabi in litt. 2017]). Short-term trends show an increase of 721% over the last three generations (Sauer et al. 2017). Note, however, that these surveys covered less than 50% of the global range.


Country/territory distribution
Country/Territory Presence Origin Resident Breeding visitor Non-breeding visitor Passage migrant
Bahamas extant native yes
Belize extant native
Canada extant native
Cayman Islands (to UK) extant native
Cuba extant native
Dominican Republic extant native
Ecuador extant native
El Salvador extant native
Guatemala extant uncertain
Haiti extant native
Jamaica extant native yes
Martinique (to France) extant vagrant
Mexico extant native
Nicaragua extant uncertain yes
Panama extant native
Peru extant native
Puerto Rico (to USA) extant native
St Lucia extant vagrant
St Vincent and the Grenadines extant vagrant
United States Minor Outlying Islands (to USA) extant native
USA extant native yes
Virgin Islands (to USA) extant native yes

Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA)
Country/Territory IBA Name

Habitats & altitude
Habitat (level 1) Habitat (level 2) Importance Occurrence
Artificial/Terrestrial Arable Land suitable breeding
Artificial/Terrestrial Arable Land suitable non-breeding
Artificial/Terrestrial Urban Areas suitable breeding
Artificial/Terrestrial Urban Areas suitable non-breeding
Grassland Subtropical/Tropical Dry suitable breeding
Grassland Subtropical/Tropical Dry suitable non-breeding
Grassland Temperate suitable breeding
Rocky areas (eg. inland cliffs, mountain peaks) major breeding
Rocky areas (eg. inland cliffs, mountain peaks) major non-breeding
Shrubland Subtropical/Tropical Dry suitable breeding
Shrubland Subtropical/Tropical Dry suitable non-breeding
Altitude 0 - 2100 m Occasional altitudinal limits  

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Petrochelidon fulva. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/cave-swallow-petrochelidon-fulva on 19/03/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org on 19/03/2024.