in his 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'' as Hirundo rustica, characterised as "H. rectricibus, exceptis duabus intermediis, macula alba notatîs". Hirundo is the Latin word for "swallow"; rusticus means "of the country". This species is the only one of that genus to have a range extending into the Americas, with the majority of Hirundo species being native to Africa. This genus of blue-backed swallows is sometimes called the "barn swallows".

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