The pale crag martin (Ptyonoprogne obsoleta) is a small passerine bird in the swallow family that is resident in Northern Africa and in Southwestern Asia, east to Pakistan.

It is 12–13 cm (4+1⁄2–5 in) long, with mainly brown plumage, paler-toned on the upper breast and underwing coverts, and with white "windows" on the spread tail in flight.

This martin builds a deep bowl nest on a sheltered horizontal surface, or a neat quarter-sphere against a vertical rock face or wall.

The nest is constructed with mud pellets and lined with grass or feathers, and may be built on natural sites under cliff overhangs or on man-made structures such as buildings and bridges.

The pale crag martin is caught in flight by several fast, agile falcon species, such as hobbies, and it sometimes carries parasites, but it faces no major threats.

Because of its range of nearly 20 million square kilometres (7,700,000 sq mi) and a large and apparently increasing population, it is not seen as vulnerable and is assessed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

The pale crag martin was first formally described in 1851 by German ornithologist Jean Cabanis as Cotyle obsoleta, using a specimen collected from near Cairo, Egypt.

[4] The genus name is derived from the Ancient Greek ptuon (πτύον), "a fan", referring to the shape of the opened tail, and Procne (Πρόκνη), a mythological girl who was turned into a swallow.

Conversely, if the Delichon house martins are considered to be a separate genus, as is normally the case, Cecropis, Petrochelidon and Ptyonoprogne should also be split off.

[10] The pale crag martin of the nominate subspecies P. o. obsoleta is 12–13 centimetres (4+1⁄2–5 inches) long with light brown upperparts, becoming paler on the lower back, and a short square tail that has small white patches near the tips of all but the central and outermost pairs of feathers.

[11] Separation of similar species in flight may be complicated by the difficulty of judging colours accurately in strong desert light, particularly with juveniles.

[22] The pale crag martin breeds in suitable habitats throughout northern Africa and through the Middle East as far as Afghanistan and Pakistan.

[26] The pale crag martin has been recorded as a vagrant in Bahrain, Qatar,[27] Kuwait, and Sri Lanka,[1] although its occurrence in the last country is treated as unproven in a 2011 field guide.

In the breeding season, the martin needs mud or wet soil to construct its nests, and this is normally readily found near human habitations.

[27] The nest, built by both adults over several weeks, is made from several hundred mud pellets and lined with feathers and soft, dry grass, hair, sheep's wool or plant down.

Breeding birds often feed close to their nesting territory, flying back and forth along a rock face catching insects in their bills.

This martin often feeds alone, but sizeable groups may gather at grass fires to feast on the fleeing insects, and outside the breeding season flocks of up to 300 may form where food is abundant,[10] such as agricultural areas, wetlands and sewage works.

[34] Wintering hirundines of other species are not normally found in the dry, rocky areas in which the pale crag martin nests, so there is little competition for food.

[38] The argasid tick Hyalomma marginatum was found in pale crag martin nests on a sarcophagus and an ancient tomb in Egypt.

The nasal mite Ptilonyssus echinatus was found in a pale crag martin in the Tibesti Mountains of northern Chad.

Its large range and presumably high numbers mean that the pale crag martin is not considered to be threatened, and it is classed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

A large breeding range expansion in the Arabian Peninsula has been aided by the use of high-rise buildings as nesting sites, and possibly a greater supply of insects from agricultural land.