NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Violet-green Swallow
Tachycineta thalassina (Swainson, 1827)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The violet-green swallow (Tachycineta thalassina) is a small North American passerine bird in the swallow family. These aerial insectivores are distributed along the west coast from Alaska to Mexico, extending as far east as Montana and Texas. With an appearance very similar to the tree swallow, these individuals can be identified by the white rump side-patches that appear to separate their green back and purple tail. Violet-green swallows are secondary cavity nesters, found in a number of habitats including deciduous and coniferous forest. In addition to nesting in tree holes within these habitats, they are also widely observed nesting in the cracks of large cliffs.
Wikipedia contributors, Violet-green swallow; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:45:20.867501+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Tachycineta thalassina (Swainson, 1827)
- Name authority
- (Swainson, 1827)
- Common name
- Violet-green Swallow
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Hirundinidae
- Genus
- Tachycineta
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyHirundinidae Rafinesque, 1815
- genusTachycineta Cabanis, 1851
- speciesTachycineta thalassina (Swainson, 1827)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Tachycineta. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Mangrove SwallowTachycineta albilinea (Lawrence, 1863) | HirundinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Tree SwallowTachycineta bicolor (Vieillot, 1808) | HirundinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Bahama SwallowTachycineta cyaneoviridis (H. Bryant, 1859) | HirundinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Golden SwallowTachycineta euchrysea (Gosse, 1847) | HirundinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Tumbes SwallowTachycineta stolzmanni (Philippi, 1902) | HirundinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Chilean SwallowTachycineta leucopyga (Meyen, 1834) | HirundinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| White-rumped SwallowTachycineta leucorrhoa (Vieillot, 1817) | HirundinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Hirundo thalassinus Swainson, 1827 Swainson, 1827 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
North America
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=178427 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:54CBJ. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.