Mangrove Swallow

识别特征

A relatively small swallow, the mangrove swallow is 11–12 centimetres (4.3–4.7 in) long and weighs about 14 grams (0.5 oz). The adult has iridescent blue-green upperparts, white underparts, rump, and undertail- and wing-coverts, and blackish tail and flight feathers. The feathers are greener when fresh and bluer when worn. The white underparts sometimes have faint, dark shaft streaks. The bill is small and black, about 11 millimetres (0.43 in) long. The iris is a dark brown, and the tarsus and toes range in colour from black to fuscous-brown. The lores are black and have a thin white line above them. Two other species of Tachycineta have this distinctive feature: the violet-green swallow and the white-rumped swallow. The adult's tail is only slightly forked. The sexes are similar, although they differ slightly in size. Compared to the male, the female has a slightly longer tail and slightly shorter wings. The juvenile is dull grey-brown above and grey-brown washed white below. Occasionally, the juvenile's upperparts have a subtle, greenish gloss.<p>The call of the mangrove swallow is a rolled "jeerrrt", or a "chriet". The song is frequently described as a soft trilling. It uses a short sharp alarm note.

分类信息

The mangrove swallow was formally described in 1863 as Petrochelidon albilinea by American amateur ornithologist George Newbold Lawrence. Its current genus, Tachycineta, was originally described in 1850 by the German ornithologist Jean Cabanis. The genus name Tachycineta is from Ancient Greek takhukinetos, "moving quickly", and the specific albilinea is from Latin albus, "white", and linea, "line".<p>The Tachycineta species are members of the swallow family of birds, and are placed in the Hirundininae subfamily, which comprises all swallows and martins except the very distinctive river martins. DNA sequence studies suggest that there are three major groupings within the Hirundininae, broadly correlating with the type of nest built. These groups are the "core martins", including burrowing species like the sand martin, the "nest-adopters", which are birds that utilise natural cavities, and the "mud nest builders" such as the Delichon house martins. The Tachycineta species belong to the "nest-adopter" group.<p>All nine Tachycineta species have glossy blue or green backs and white underparts, but the five species with white rumps – the mangrove swallow, Tumbes swallow, white-winged swallow, white-rumped swallow and Chilean swallow – are particularly closely related, the first three and the last two forming two superspecies. The Tumbes swallow of coastal Peru was formerly considered to be a subspecies of the mangrove swallow, but its calls, behaviour, and cytochrome b data indicate that it should be considered a separate species. It is also differentiated from the mangrove swallow by its lack of a supraloral white line and by its slight difference in size.

学名

Tachycineta albilinea

命名信息

(Lawrence, 1863)

目

Passeriformes

科

Hirundinidae

属

Tachycineta

分布与栖息地

This swallow is native to Mexico and all of Central America (Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama). It is usually found near low-lying bodies of water and mangrove forests, which gave rise to the common name. It has also been recorded in intertidal zones. In Mexico, it is not typically found above 600 metres (2,000 ft). In Costa Rica, it has been found to occur as high as 1,000 metres (3,300 ft), but it normally occurs between 500 metres (1,600 ft) and sea level. It is rarely found in the highlands. The mangrove swallow is also vagrant to the United States, where it was first recorded in 2002, in Florida. Although the mangrove swallow is a full-time resident of its range, there are probably some post-breeding movements.

迁徙

Resident species

行为

Migration pattern: Resident species.

保护状况

Population trend: declining.

种群趋势

declining