About 14 centimetres long, with a wingspan of nearly 30 centimetres, the house martin has a short, moderately forked tail. It has a steel-blue head and upper parts, white rump, and pure white underparts.
The house martin is found across Europe during the summer, wintering in Africa. It commonly breeds in colonies in villages, farms, towns and various types of open country.
The house martin builds a closed, convex mud nest beneath house eaves, on bridge girders etc. It feeds on insects, which it catches in flight.