Small dull swallow, brown above and white below, with a sharp brown chest band. Nearly identical to Bank Swallow, with which it breeds sympatrically and overlaps on migration, but look for a slightly less well-defined lower border to the cheek patch and a slightly paler, more diffuse breast band. Voice also differs subtly, Pale gives primarily series of dry notes with a more trilling quality than Bank Swallow’s. Similarly picky in its nesting locales, limited only to sandy hillsides and banks, often near a water source.