It is a species with a circum-Mediterranean and Indo-African distribution (BirdLife International, 2024). In Europe, it occurs in the Iberian and Greek peninsulas, the Balkans, and Bulgaria (Keller et al., 2020). It breeds across much of the Iberian Peninsula, being more frequent in the southern half and scarcer in the northern strip and in the Balearic Islands. Breeding has not been recorded in the Canary Islands, although individuals are detected during migration (de Lope in SEO/BirdLife, 2022).

In Madrid, it shows a distribution restricted to mid- and low-altitude areas of the mountains and foothills, as well as some points in the basins of the main rivers. It is more forest-associated than the common swallow, generally frequenting a wide variety of habitats near water (Díaz et al., 1994) and linked to the presence of bridges under which it builds its nests.

Within the national park, it has only been detected in the southernmost part, in the lower-altitude areas at the boundary of La Pedriza. It is not a characteristic species of the national park, and no nests have been located, but its breeding within the protected area cannot be ruled out.