hirundines to Long-tailed Tit

Four hirundines can be seen in Kyoto depending on the season and three of them breed in Kansai. Barn Swallow is a common and widespread breeder in urban as well as rural areas. It's not unknown for the race tytleri to occur in northern Shiga in mid-winter, I've seen a flock of about 30 in late December one year and a single in January in a subsequent winter. The flock were moulting primaries so presumably unlikely to travel far. It's strange to see Swallows flying low over a snow covered landscape as though it were a summer meadow.
Red-rumped Swallow only breeds at a couple of locations in Kyoto city and compared to Barn is also more localised as a breeder throughout the region. It's a common migrant over the city rivers, passing through later than Barn in autumn, there can be large numbers well into October.
Asian House Martin is a common breeder usually in association with rivers in forested areas and frequently nests under road bridges. The only urban colony I know of near Kyoto is under an elevated stretch of railway between here and Osaka. Sometimes parties can appear in in the city in mid-winter but they never linger long.
Sand Martin is purely a migrant and in autumn it can pass through over quite a protracted period. Again it can be seen along all the rivers and often over the fields at Ogura.

These Sand Martins were photographed on their breeding grounds in Hokkaido in August 2012.

Barn Swallow at Ogura, 18 August 2011.

These two are Pacific Swallow photographed in Okinawa, 2 August 2011.

Asian House Martins gathering nest building mud in a village near Ashyu Forest, 13 May 2012.  

This was another of the birds I photographed near Ashyu. I was puzzled by the dark patch on its breast side and when I cropped the image I was amazed to find another wing.  A heavily cropped version showing more detail is repeated below. As looks perfectly healthy and was gathering mud the supernumerary limb mustn't impare it in any way. Not having noticed this in the field, I'm left wondering whether it has a matching pair.

Red-rumped Swallow over the Katsuragawa at Arashiyama, Kyoto city 29 October. It isn't unusual to see birds as late as this, long after Barn Swallow has disappeared.

Some of a flock of about 150 migrant Red-rumped Swallows in Ishikawa in October 2014.

Long-tailed Tits are very common in and around the city as well as throughout Kansai in general. They can be found in woodland, in riverside scrub and city parks.

Long-tailed Tits along the Katsura River in Kyoto, 3 October 2010.

Adult caudatus in Hokkaido, 31 December 2012.

A juvenile caudatus in Hokkaido, 12 August 2012.