bank swallow

American  

noun

1. a swallow, Riparia riparia, of the Northern Hemisphere, that nests in tunnels dug in sand or clay banks.

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Etymology

Origin of bank swallow

First recorded in 1645–55

Example Sentences

Four birds have been elusive: the hairy woodpecker, bank swallow, cliff swallow and northern rough-winged swallow.

From Washington Times • Mar. 19, 2016

On the same day a bank swallow was feeding her little ones, a half dozen or so, which were ranged on a willow stem at the margin of the river.

From Our Bird Comrades by Keyser, Leander S. (Leander Sylvester)

But those of our swallows that correspond to the British species, the barn swallow, the cliff swallow, and the bank swallow, subsist upon very small insects.

From The Writings of John Burroughs — Volume 05: Pepacton by Burroughs, John