First described and given its binomial name by French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot in 1817, it was for many years considered a subspecies of the Chilean swallow.

The white-rumped swallow is solitary and nests in distributed pairs during the breeding season.

This swallow is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay.

The white-rumped swallow was first formally described as Hirundo leucorrhoa by French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot in 1817 in his Nouveau Dictionnaire d'Histoire Naturelle.

Tachycineta is from takhukinetos, "moving quickly", and the specific leucorrhoa is from leukos, "white", and orrhos, "rump".

[4] The species was formerly considered a subspecies of the Chilean swallow, most likely due to the similarity in morphology and calls.

[8] The white-rumped swallow measures 13 centimetres (5.1 in) in length and weighs 17–21 grams (0.60–0.74 oz).

The sexes are alike, and the juvenile can be distinguished by its dusky breast and the fact that it is duller and more brownish.

[8] This swallow is native to Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay.

[1] It inhabits open and semi-open country near water, the edge of woodland, and human settlements.

[5] It also occurs in dry savannas, degraded former forest, and both subtropical and tropical seasonally flooded grassland.

During the austral winter, the birds in the southern population usually move to the northern parts of its range.

[1] After the breeding season, the white-rumped swallow forms flocks that sometimes consist of hundreds of individuals.

[8] The white-rumped swallow builds nests in holes or crevices in a tree or dead snag.

[9] This swallow will sometimes reuse favourable nest sites, which has a positive effect on fledgling survival.

After a nest failure, the average distance an individual travels during a prospecting visit increases dramatically, from about 121 metres (397 ft) to about 5.1 kilometres (3.2 miles).

[8] The shiny cowbird is a brood parasite that occasionally lays its eggs in the nest of white-rumped swallow.

After a shiny cowbird fledges, it exhibits behaviour that causes it to be fed more, much to the detriment of white-rumped swallow nestlings.