''Riparia'' is a genus of passerine birds in the swallow family Hirundinidae. These are small or medium-sized swallows, ranging from in length. They are brown above and mainly white below, and all have a dark breast band. They are closely associated with water. They nest in tunnels which are usually excavated by the birds themselves in a natural sand bank or earth mound. They lay white eggs, which are incubated by both parents, in a nest of straw, grass, and feathers in a chamber at the end of the burrow. Some species breed colonially. The cosmopolitan sand martin is almost completely migratory, breeding across temperate Eurasia and

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

and wintering in the tropics. The other species are partial migrants or resident. ''Riparia'' martins, like other swallows, take insects in flight over water, grassland, or other open country.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Riparia'' was introduced by the German naturalist Johann Reinhold Forster in 1817 with the

sand martin The sand martin (''Riparia riparia''), also known as the bank swallow (in the Americas), collared sand martin, or common sand martin, is a migratory passerine bird in the swallow family. It has a wide range in summer, embracing practically the w ...

(''Riparia riparia'') as the type species. The genus name is from the Latin ''riparius'' which means "of the riverbank"; it is derived from the Latin ''ripa'' "riverbank". The genus contains five species: The genus formerly included the

banded martin The banded martin or banded sand martin (''Neophedina cincta'') is a small passerine bird in the swallow family Hirundinidae that is endemic to Africa. It is the only species placed in the genus ''Neophedina''. Taxonomy The banded martin was d ...

but this species is now placed in its own genus ''

Neophedina The banded martin or banded sand martin (''Neophedina cincta'') is a small passerine bird in the swallow family Hirundinidae that is endemic to Africa. It is the only species placed in the genus ''Neophedina''. Taxonomy The banded martin was d ...

''.

Fossil record

*''Riparia minor'' (late Miocene of Polgardi, Hungary)Kessler, E. (2013). Neogene songbirds (Aves, Passeriformes) from Hungary. ''Hantkeniana.'' Budapest, 8:37-149.

References

Hirundinidae Bird genera Taxa named by Thomas Ignatius Maria Forster {{Hirundinidae-stub