The pale martin or pale sand martin (''Riparia diluta'') is a small passerine bird in the

swallow The swallows, martins, and saw-wings, or Hirundinidae are a family of passerine songbirds found around the world on all continents, including occasionally in Antarctica. Highly adapted to aerial feeding, they have a distinctive appearance. The ...

family. It is found in open habitats such as farmland, grassland and savannah, usually near water. It is found from

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

to southeastern China. The species was formerly considered a subspecies of the sand martin.

References

*Rasmussen, P.C., and J.C. Anderton. 2005. Birds of South Asia. The Ripley guide. Volume 2: attributes and status. Smithsonian Institution and Lynx Edicions, Washington D.C. and Barcelona. pale martin Birds of Afghanistan Birds of China Birds of Central Asia Birds of Mongolia Birds of Pakistan pale martin {{Hirundinidae-stub