Bahama Swallow
Tachycineta cyaneoviridis
An elegant aerial hunter most often found in pine woodlands, but also seen in towns and over fields. Note the long forked tail, green to blue-green upperparts, and white underparts. Tree Swallows are similarly colored, but have a shorter, notched tail. Tree Swallows also have entirely dusky underwings unlike Bahama Swallows which have white armpits. Calls include a slightly squeaky “chet” or “chet-chet” and a thin “tsi-tsip.” Song is a beautiful liquid jumble of rich notes.
Identification
This glossy Tachycineta swallow has a green head and back, blue upper wings, a black tail and wingtips, and a white belly and chin.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Tachycineta cyaneoviridis
- Authority
- (Bryant, H, 1859)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Hirundinidae
- Genus
- Tachycineta
Range and habitat
This swallow breeds only in pineyards on four islands in the northern Bahamas: Andros, Grand Bahama, Abaco, and New Providence. The breeding population on New Providence is, at the very least, greatly reduced from historical levels, and may be extirpated as a breeding species.<p>The Bahama swallow winters throughout the eastern Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands. It is a rare vagrant elsewhere during migration, including south Florida, the Florida Keys and Cuba. It is also an occasional vagrant to South America.<p>T. cyaneoviridis is endemic to the Bahamian pineyards, though they are somewhat capable of adapting to urban habitat. Although they do not breed in marshland and fields, they need such habitat to forage; like all swallows, they feed on flying insects.
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Greater Scythebill
Drymotoxeres pucheranii
Bulky woodcreeper with a stout, deeply curved bill. Very rare in tall, wet Andean cloud forest. Brown with buffy streaks on head, neck, and underparts. Dual white stripes on face and thicker bill distinguish it from Brown-billed Scythebill. Usually found alone, sometimes with mixed-species flocks; probes for insects while creeping along moss-covered trunks and branches. Gives a variety of nasal, whiny-sounding squeaks.
Pink-backed Pelican
Pelecanus rufescens
Small by pelican standards, though still a very large bird! Adult is mostly pale gray with a pinkish bill and (in breeding plumage) a gray crest. Immature darker gray. Found in many wetland habitats with open water, including lakes, ponds, and coastal lagoons. Usually in small groups. Often confused with Great White Pelican, but Pink-backed is much smaller. In flight, the outer wing is dark gray rather than black, and it contrasts much less with the pale portions of the wing.
White-throated Laughingthrush
Pterorhinus albogularis
Warm brown with an ochre-colored belly and pure white throat, this laughingthrush is found in foothill forests along the Himalayas and in central China. Several other laughingthrushes also have pale throats, but none are as plain and unmarked above as White-throated. Gives high whistles, often from within cover. Common in foothill forests and edges but will also occasionally venture into parks and gardens.
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