Black Sawwing
Psalidoprocne pristoptera
Odd, all-black swallow with a long forked tail. Shows geographical variation: most have a dark underwing, but in some areas, there is a white or pale gray patch on the front of the underwing. Found in and over forest, plantations, and thick woodland. Usually seen in flight or perched on a dead tree. Has an odd, weak flight style that is different from that of a typical swallow. Similar to White-headed Sawwing, but has an all-dark head and a longer tail.
Identification
The black rough-winged swallow is a small swallow at 13–15 cm length with a forked tail. Its plumage is blue-glossed black. Sexes are similar, but the female has shorter outer tail feathers, and less obvious wing serrations. Juveniles are brown with little gloss, and have short tails.<p>There are many subspecies of this swallow, which some authorities may split into different species. In particular, four northeastern races, including nominate P. p. pristoptera, have conspicuous white underwing coverts (all other subspecies are green-glossed and have completely dark underwings), and may be split as the eastern rough-winged swallow or eastern saw-wing (swallow), P. orientalis. This leaves P. p. holomelaena as the black rough-winged swallow, P. holomelaena. Other subspecies are also sometimes elevated to species status, but Turner and Rose take the view that all the races of the black rough-winged swallow are, at best, incipient species.
Taxonomy
Genus: Psalidoprocne; Family: Hirundinidae; Order: Passeriformes.
- Scientific name
- Psalidoprocne pristoptera
- Authority
- (Rüppell, 1840)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Hirundinidae
- Genus
- Psalidoprocne
Range and habitat
The black rough-winged swallow breeds in open wooded habitats, and has a preference for wetter areas, although some races occur in mountain grassland habitat. It breeds across Africa from eastern Nigeria and Ethiopia south to Angola, northern Zimbabwe and northern Mozambique. The subspecies P. p. holomelaena breeds down south-eastern Africa from southern Mozambique to the Cape in South Africa.<p>This species is mainly resident, apart from seasonal local or altitudinal movements, but P. p. holomelaena is migratory, spending the southern winter north of the breeding range. The nominate race P. p. pristoptera of the mountains of northern Ethiopia moves south after breeding.
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
Migration pattern: Complete migrants.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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