Southern Rough-winged Swallow
Stelgidopteryx ruficollis
Plain brownish swallow, common and widespread through the Neotropics. Very similar to Northern Rough-winged Swallow, but look for contrasting pale rump in flight and tawny throat; also, note that ranges only overlap in Central America. Found in open habitats including fields, rivers, and lakes, often in small loose flocks.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Stelgidopteryx ruficollis
- Authority
- (Vieillot, 1817)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Hirundinidae
- Genus
- Stelgidopteryx
Range and habitat
It occurs in Central and South America from Honduras south to northern Argentina and Uruguay. It also occurs on Trinidad. Southern birds of the nominate race S. r. ruficollis, are migratory, moving north in winter, but the northern S. r. aequalis is sedentary.
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
It is found in open areas and forest clearings. It nests in grass-lined cavities of various types, including holes in banks or walls, or disused kingfisher and jacamar nests. It does not form colonies. The clutch is 3–6 white eggs, incubated by the female for 16–18 days and with another 13 days to fledging. Southern rough-winged swallows forage for insects (such as plant bugs, beetles, flies, flying ants and heteropterans) in flight, usually flying low with a slow deliberate flight. The call is an unmusical chirrup.
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Bronze-tailed Starling
Lamprotornis chalcurus
A beautiful, glossy green-and-purple starling. There is a stripe through the eye that sometimes looks black and sometimes deep purple. The eye is reddish-orange. Juveniles are dull and blackish. Found in a wide variety of savanna habitats, from moist broadleaf woodland to dry thorn savanna. Also found in villages, towns, and cultivated areas. Very similar to Lesser and Greater Blue-eared Starlings, but separated by the purple rather than greenish tail and the darker reddish eye. The vocalizations include rising whistles, nasal whines, and long series of chattering notes.
Gray-throated Martin
Riparia chinensis
A small gray-brown swallow with pale white underparts. It has a gray-brown chin, throat, and upper breast and does not show any kind of breast band. Tail is short, square-ended or sometimes marginally forked. It is mainly found around slow-flowing rivers, lakes, wet grasslands, and other wetland habitats; mostly seen in the air but sometimes sitting on wires or on the ground or on cliffs while breeding.
Nubian Woodpecker
Campethera nubica
Mid-sized green-backed woodpecker with intricate patterning. The crown is red in males, red and white-speckled black in females. Note the heavily streaked ear, bold spotting below, and plain white throat. Generally common and conspicuous in most types of savanna habitat. Usually in pairs, which give a loud duet of “keek” notes. Very similar to Bennett’s Woodpecker, but separated by the black-streaked ear. Also similar to Golden-tailed and Mombasa Woodpeckers, but easily separated by the spotted rather than striped underparts.
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