House Martin

Unnoticed biodiversity

Identification

Common name: House Martin
Latin name: Delichon urbicum
Length: 12 cm
Distinguishing features: white rump, glossy blue-black upper parts, white underparts, moderately forked short tail
Habitat: human-made environments
Diet: insects
Status: heritage species, Near Threatened in the Ile-de-France region
Nesting period: April to August

Seen in the garden

You can catch sight of a small colony that nests each year on the façades of the Louvre palace and on the Arc du Carrousel.

The nesting of this species on the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel is longstanding, having been observed by Victor Hugo in 1846 in Things Seen.

House Martin - typical songs at colony

Audio

1 min.

Did you know?

During the conservation treatment of the Arc du Carrousel in 2022–2024, the Louvre teams partnered with the French League for the Protection of Birds (LPO) to install a temporary house martin tower providing a substitute nesting site, and allowing the colony to continue to breed.
In spring 2025, the house martins returned to the Arc du Carrousel, building fifteen nests. .

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