tail of the barn swallow prominent during flight. The cliff swallows have a square-shaped tail.

Juvenile cliff swallows have an overall similar body plumage colouring to the adults, with paler tones. The juveniles lack the iridescent adult plumages, and their foreheads and throats appear speckled white. The juvenile cliff swallows' white forehead and throat markings have high variance between unrelated individuals compared with those from the same clutch. These distinctive white facial markings disappear during maturity following their