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Passerine bird in the swallow family from Mexico and Central America

The mangrove swallow (Tachycineta albilinea) is a passerine bird in the swallow family that breeds in coastal regions from Mexico through Central America to Panama. It has blue green upperparts, blackish flight feathers, a white rump, a black tail, and white underparts. It can be identified by the white streak, the white line near its eye, which only occurs in two other species of Tachycineta: the violet green swallow and the white rumped swallow. The sexes, although similar in plumage, differ slightly in size. The juveniles have grey brown upperparts and white washed underparts. This swallow's song is generally described as a soft trilling, with a rolled jeerrt call, and a sharp alarm note. The mangrove swallow is very territorial when breeding, much like the related tree swallow. Its nest is normally built in a hole or crevice near water and less than above the ground. This species usually feeds alone when breeding, but will feed in groups when not. It normally forages closer to the nest when hunting for its chicks, but will go much further when foraging for itself. In between foraging attempts, it is frequently seen perching near water. It is an aerial insectivore and eats unusually large prey for its size. With an estimated population of at least 500,000 individuals, the mangrove swallow is classified as a species of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Its numbers are decreasing, although not fast enough for it to be classified as vulnerable. Little is known about the predation of this species, although it is a host of Sternostoma hirundinis, a type of nasal mite. It has also been known to lose nests both to termites and black flies.

The mangrove swallow was formally described in 1863 as Petrochelidon albilinea by American amateur ornithologist George Newbold Lawrence. Its current genus, Tachycineta, was originally described in 1850 by the German ornithologist Jean Cabanis. The genus name Tachycineta is from Ancient Greek takhukinetos, "moving quickly", and the specific albilinea is from Latin albus, "white", and linea, "line". The Tachycineta species are members of the swallow family of birds, and are placed in the Hirundininae subfamily, which comprises all swallows and martins except the very distinctive river martins. DNA sequence studies suggest that there are three major groupings within the Hirundininae, broadly correlating with the type of nest built. These groups are the "core martins", including burrowing species like the sand martin, the "nest adopters", which are birds that utilise natural cavities, and the "mud nest builders" such as the Delichon house martins. The Tachycineta species belong to the "nest adopter" group. All nine Tachycineta species have glossy blue or green backs and white underparts, but the five species with white rumps – the mangrove swallow, Tumbes swallow, white winged swallow, white rumped swallow and Chilean swallow – are particularly closely related, the first three and the last two forming two superspecies. The Tumbes swallow of coastal Peru was formerly considered to be a subspecies of the mangrove swallow, but its calls, behaviour, and cytochrome b data indicate that it should be considered a separate species. It is also differentiated from the mangrove swallow by its lack of a supraloral white line and by its slight difference in size. Occasionally, the juvenile's upperparts have a subtle, greenish gloss. The call of the mangrove swallow is a rolled "jeerrrt", or a "chriet". The song is frequently described as a soft trilling.

The mangrove swallow is a solitary bird; its nests are not found closer than away from each other, and usually have about separating them. The nest itself is built in natural or artificial cavities near water, usually in a tree stump or dead tree. The nest is a few centimetres deep and made with grass, fine stems, moss, and a few leaves and sticks. It is padded with feathers. The nest is normally found to occur below While the nest is built relatively low, it is still normally above the water level of a typical flood. The clutch is three to five white eggs which hatch in 17 days.

The mangrove swallow subsists primarily on a diet of small, flying insects, including large species such as dragonflies and bees. The prey it feeds on is large for a bird of its size. This swallow usually feeds close over bays, lakes, and large rivers, but sometimes can be found to forage or more above the water. This swallow is a host to the parasite Sternostoma hirundinis, a type of nasal mite.

As of 2016, the mangrove swallow is classified as least concern by the IUCN. There is some evidence that the population is decreasing. This is probably due to habitat loss or the use of pesticides. The justification for classifying this species as least concern is its large population, estimated to be greater than 500,000 individuals, and its extremely large range, estimated to be about Although the population is decreasing, it is not decreasing rapidly enough to be classified as a vulnerable species.