Ethiopian Swallow
Hirundo aethiopica
A long-tailed swallow with glossy-blue upperparts and white underparts. The throat is pale buff and there are dark marks at the sides of the breast, but no complete breast band. There is a small patch of brick red above the bill. Found in a wide variety of open habitats, often near water or human habitation. Similar to Red-chested and Barn Swallows, but is buff rather than brick red on the throat. Also similar to Wire-tailed Swallow, but doesn’t have a complete red cap, and has much shorter tail streamers.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Hirundo aethiopica
- Authority
- Blanford, 1869
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Hirundinidae
- Genus
- Hirundo
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
It breeds and nests on cliffs and in buildings.
Conservation
- Population trend
- rising
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Capito aurovirens
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South Island Wren
Xenicus gilviventris
A perky, upright wren restricted to alpine regions in the South Island of New Zealand. Has a very short tail and rounded wings, but distinctive long legs and toes. Male is a mossy green above and pale gray below, with noticeable yellow flanks and a creamy eyebrow. Female has duller plumage. Stance is often erect; constantly bobs up and down, flicking its wings, before hopping and running. Flies very short distances. Seen out in the open in rocky boulder fields, hence its common New Zealand name of “rock wren.” Gives a high-pitched three-note call which travels well in the open alpine terrain. Pairs will sometimes duet.
Scaled Flowerpiercer
Diglossa duidae
Small, dark flowerpiercer with typical upturned, hooked bill. Slaty-blackish body with grayish spotted or scaled underparts and mostly black wings. Sexes similar. Common, usually alone or in pairs, piercing flowers in shrubby areas and forest edges. Call a high-pitched note typical of flowerpiercers; song a four-note “chip ZEET ZEET zeet.” No overlap with other flowerpiercers in its limited range in the Pantepui region of southern Venezuela and adjacent Brazil.
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