Tachycineta
Tachycineta is a genus of birds in the swallow family Hirundinidae. There are nine described species all restricted to the Americas.
These are slender swallows with forked tails. Most species have a metallic green back, green or blue head, and metallic blue or unglossed brown wings. All have pure white underparts, and four species have a white rump.
Most Tachycineta swallows are at least partially migratory, with only golden and mangrove swallow being essentially resident. All the species use natural or disused cavities for nest sites.
Taxonomy
The genus Tachycineta was introduced by the German ornithologists Jean Cabanisin 1850 with the violet-green swallow as the type species. The genus name is from Ancient Greek takhukinētos meaning "moving quickly".The genus contains nine species:
| Image | Scientific name | Common name | Distribution |
| Tachycineta bicolor | Tree swallow | north-central Alaska and up to the tree line in Canada and as far south as Tennessee in the eastern part of its range, California and New Mexico in the west, and Kansas in the centre | |
| Tachycineta thalassina | Violet-green swallow | central Alaska down to Mexico | |
| Tachycineta euchrysea | Golden swallow | Hispaniola and Jamaica | |
| Tachycineta cyaneoviridis | Bahama swallow | northern Bahamas: Andros, Grand Bahama, Abaco, and New Providence | |
| Tachycineta stolzmanni | Tumbes swallow | northwestern Peru and far southwestern Ecuador. | |
| Tachycineta albilinea | Mangrove swallow | native to Mexico and all of Central America | |
| Tachycineta albiventer | White-winged swallow | tropical South America from Colombia, Venezuela, and Trinidad south to northern Argentina. | |
| Tachycineta leucorrhoa | White-rumped swallow | Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay | |
| Tachycineta leucopyga | Chilean swallow | Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Falkland Islands, Paraguay, and Uruguay. |