Blue-and-white Swallow
Pygochelidon cyanoleuca
One of the most common and widespread Neotropical swallows. Small and compact with notched tail. Generally dark above and white below; best field mark is black undertail coverts sharply cut off from white belly. Flocks can be seen in towns and cities, open fields, bodies of water, and over forest. Often perches on telephone wires.
Identification
The adult blue-and-white swallow averages 11–12 cm (4.3–4.7 in) long and weighs about 10 g (0.35 oz). It has dark blue upperparts and white underparts, and its underwings and the undersurface of its short forked tail are blackish. The juvenile is brown above, buff-tinted below, and has a less forked tail. The call is a buzzing dzzzhreeee.<p>There are three subspecies. The nominate N. c. cyanoleuca occurs from Nicaragua and Trinidad south to northwestern Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. The migratory southern race N. c. patagonica is larger, 13.5 cm (5.3 in), has paler underwings, and white basal undertail coverts. N. c. peruviana is restricted to coastal Peru up to 2,500 m (8,200 ft) altitude. It is smaller than patagonica, has less white in the undertail, darker underwings and duskier flanks.
Taxonomy
The blue-and-white swallow was first formally described as Hirundo cyanoleuca by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot in 1817, based on a specimen he believed to be from Paraguay. The scientific name has the same meaning as the English common name.<p>This species was formerly placed in the genus Notiochelidon. It was moved to the resurrected genus Pygochelidon based on a phylogenetic study published in 2005.<p>Three subspecies are recognised:
- Scientific name
- Pygochelidon cyanoleuca
- Authority
- (Vieillot, 1817)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Hirundinidae
- Genus
- Pygochelidon
Range and habitat
This is a swallow of open areas including villages and towns, farms, and forest clearings. In Central America, it is a highland bird, but elsewhere in its range it can occur from the lowlands to an altitude of 4,000 m (13,000 ft).
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
Migration pattern: Complete migrants.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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