Africa Wild

What about a few swallows?

Whitethroated Swallow:

Redbreasted Swallow:

Pearlbreasted Swallow:

521 Blue Swallow hirundo atrocaerulea Blouswael

Order: Passeriformes

Family: Hirundinidae

Description





SEXES are similar. The male has longer outer tail feathers and glossier blue underparts. It is a distinctive glossy dark blue, not black plumage, longer outer tail streamers and the tail held square not forked. From close may display scattered white feathers on neck, rump and flanks.



JUVENILE lacks metallic gloss of adult. Throat and chest brownish and belly black.

STATUS rare and critically endangered in South Africa due to habitat loss. Localised breeding intra-African migrant.

HABITAT high rainfall, short montane grassland adjacent to streams.

FOOD aerial insects caught over low grass.

CALL female gives high-pitched nasal hee-hee-hee call. Both sexes have a soft wheezy chip or chip- chip notes.

BR. monogamous. Untidy half-cup nest built of mud and grass, usually placed under overhang of a hole in the earth such as potholes, donga, Aardvark burrows or mine shafts.

Roberts Bird Guide

Swallows

aerial feeders; told from swifts by angled wings and more flapping flight; also frequently perch. Swallows typically have pale underparts, but some martins are brown below. Sexes alike; juvs duller; in species with tail streamers, those of female and juvs are shorter. Some species breed colonially. (Ian Siclair, Phil Hockey, Warwick Tarboton and Peter Ryan – SASOL Birds of Southern Africa)

as there are so many, only the „blue“ ones this month - genus hirundo, cecropis and petrochelidon of South Africa, leaving out the saw-wings and martins:

barn (european) swallow – hirundo rustica - Europese Swael
wire-tailed swallow – hirundo smithii - Draadstertswael
white-throated swallow – hirundo albigularis - Witkeelswael
pearl-breasted swallow – hirundo dimidiata - Pêrelborsswael
lesser striped swallow – cecropis abyssinica - Kleinstreepswael
greater striped swallow – cecropis cucullata - Grootstreepswael
red-breasted swallow – cecropis semirufa - Rooiborsswael
mosque swallow – cecropis senegalensis - Moskeeswael
south african cliff swallow – petrochelidon spilodera - Familieswael
blue swallow – hirundo atrocaerulea - Blouswael

barn swallow

15-20 cm; 16-24 g; dark blue or brown above, with white panels in the outer tail; breast and belly vary from off-white to rich buff. Ad. striking in fresh plumage (usually Mar – May), with long tail streamers and a reddish frons and throat, but streamers often short or missing and throat dull brown when worn. Slightly larger than rare Angola swallow; red largely confined to throat (not onto breast), bordered by a complete blackish breast band of relatively uniform thickness; remainder of underparts creamy buff (not grey). Juv duller, with browner frons and throat; outer-tail feathers short. (SASOL)



KNP



KNP

Love that tree full of barnies

super choice
will try to find some

Nice choice Tina.

Great birdie Tina!

White-throated swallow?:

Red-breasted: