White-throated Swallow
Hirundo albigularis
A swallow with a small rufous patch on the forehead and a diagnostic complete steel-blue breast band which forms a white throat patch. This migrant breeds in South Africa in the Austral summer, September to April, and spends the non-breeding period (May to August) in south-central Africa. It prefers foraging in pairs or groups, sometimes with other swallow species, in grassland, light woodland, and floodplains, and is often seen perching on fences or on posts near water.
识别特征
The white-throated swallow is 14–17 cm long. It has glossy dark blue upperparts and a bright chestnut crown. A dark blue-black breast band separates the white throat from the greyish white underparts and underwing coverts. The upper wings, underwing flight feathers and forked tail are blackish-blue, but the undertail has white patches near the feather tips. The white throat and blackish breast band are distinctions from similar Hirundo species. The outer feathers are slightly longer in the male than the female. Juveniles are duller than the adult, with shorter outer tail feathers and a browner crown. The call is a mix of warbles and twitters.
分类信息
- 学名
- Hirundo albigularis
- 命名信息
- Strickland, 1849
- 目
- Passeriformes
- 科
- Hirundinidae
- 属
- Hirundo
分布与栖息地
The swallow breeds in southern Africa from Angola and Zambia southwards to the Cape in South Africa. It is mainly migratory, wintering in Angola, Zambia and southern Zaire. This is a bird of open country and grassland, with a preference for highlands and nearby water. It is often found around man-made structures.
- 繁殖区
- AF : Botswana and Zimbabwe to s South Africa
- 非繁殖区
- to Angola and s DR Congo
- 迁徙
- Complete migrants
行为
It feeds mainly on flying insects, which it pursues with a fast twisting flight like a barn swallow.<p>The white-throated swallow builds a bowl-shaped mud nest with a soft lining of grass or hair. It is usually near or over water, and is built on a ledge under an overhang on a rock face or on a man-made structure such as a building, dam wall, culvert or bridge. Uninhabited buildings are preferred to houses. The nest may be reused for subsequent broods or in later years.<p>The three eggs of a typical clutch are white with brown and blue blotches, and are incubated by the female alone for 15–16 days to hatching. Both parents then feed the chicks. Fledging takes another 20–21 days, but the young birds will return to the nest to roost for a few days after the first flight. The young can swim a short distance to safety if they fall from the nest.
保护状况
- 种群趋势
- rising
照片
分布
鸟叫声
其他鸟类
Ochre-browed Thistletail
Asthenes coryi
Tiny bird with a long, spiky red tail, a vocal and active resident of grass and bushes above treeline. Dull brown upperparts, grayish brown underparts, and a distinctive orange face and chin. Sexes similar. Not common and difficult to approach closely; often alone or in pairs foraging in paramo bushes or treeline borders. Song is an ascending series of high-pitched whistles “fuuuuuEE-peep-PEEP-PEE’REE!” Call is a soft, querulous “peew.” The only unstreaked Furnariid in the Venezuelan paramo. Endemic to the Andes of Venezuela.
Pacific Heron
Ardea pacifica
Large dark gray heron with white head and neck. In flight shows white "headlights" on the leading edge of the wing. Typically has dark legs. Usually found near water. Often seen singly, but also occurs in large scattered groups while foraging in damp paddocks and grassland.
New Zealand King Shag
Leucocarbo carunculatus
A large, thick-necked black-and-white marine shag endemic to the Marlborough Sounds of New Zealand. Shows pink feet, a distinct white patch on the wings, and a blue eye-ring. Breeding adults have yellow, warty caruncles on either side of the bill. Very wary of humans and boats. Juvenile birds have dull brown upperparts and light facial skin. Similar to the Pied Shag, but white facial feathers remain below the bill; the Pied Shag has a predominantly white face that reaches the eye and a slimmer neck. Stewart Island and Chatham Islands Shag are very similar, but the three do not overlap in range.
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