| This summer visitor has a black and white plumage, with black upperparts and white underparts, except for the rump which is also white (herein its Catalan name of cuablanca - "white tail"). It forms dense colonies under the eaves of façades and balconies. The mud nest is convex with a single entrance through a small hole on top.
House martins feed on flying insects which they capture on the wing. They can raise as many as three clutches in a year. This species is more urban than the barn swallow. This said, a lack of mud in cities is a serious limiting factor in cities. In some areas of Barcelona, however, there are still relatively important breeding colonies, for example, La Caserna del Bruc, with more than 50 nests.
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