Blyth's Swift
Apus leuconyx
A large swift with long pointed wings and a long, deeply forked tail. It has black upperparts, tail, and wings, with a prominent white rump. Feathers of underparts broadly fringed with dirty white, and throat is whitish. Often difficult or nearly impossible to separate in the field from other similar “fork-tailed swifts,” but the white rump band is slightly thinner than that of Pacific Swift, while Salim Ali’s Swift has a slightly differently shaped white throat patch. This species is less blackish than Cook’s Swift, with a slightly wider rump band. Mostly sticks to hills while breeding, but disperses widely post-breeding and large flocks or loose individuals can be seen almost anywhere.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Apus leuconyx
- Authority
- (Blyth, 1845)
- Order
- Apodiformes
- Family
- Apodidae
- Genus
- Apus
Range and habitat
- Breeding range
- PAL, OR : mid to high altitudes in Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan and ne India
- Non-breeding range
- some winter at lower altitudes in Nepal and peninsular India
Photos
Other Birds
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Ichthyaetus hemprichii
Medium-sized elongated gull. Brown-gray overall with a long bill and dark underwings. Similar to White-eyed Gull, but with dark underwings. Slightly larger and heavier with browner adult plumage than White-eyed Gull. The bill on Sooty Gull is also thicker and clearly two-toned in all ages compared to White-eyed Gull. Coastal, breeds on islands and coral reefs.
Rüppell's Bustard
Heterotetrax rueppelii
Small, pale, desert-dwelling bustard. Males have a bolder pattern of black, gray, and white on the face, though both sexes show a black stripe down the throat. Found in open desert and semi-desert, both in grassy areas and virtually barren gravel or sand flats. Usually in pairs. Call is a weirdly frog-like duet. Overlaps slightly with Karoo Bustard in southern Namibia, but easily separated by bolder face pattern and black stripe down the neck.
Purple-crowned Plovercrest
Stephanoxis loddigesii
Medium-sized charismatic hummingbird with an iridescent green body and short, straight bill. Males have a violet-blue crest and are violet below with light gray flanks. Females have a less prominent crest, lack the violet belly seen on males, and have a prominent white spot behind the eye. Resembles Green-crowned Plovercrest, but males have a purple (not green) crest and has less extensive violet below. Female Purple-crowned Plovercrests have slightly larger white tips to the outer tail feathers than Green-crowned Plovercrest. Inhabits the understory of lowland and montane forests, light woodland and riparian forests.
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