- Hirundo dimidiata
Identification
13-14 cm long. Blue upperparts and grey-white underparts, upper wings, underwing flight feathers and tail are black-blue; underwing coverts darker shade of grey-white.
Distribution
Southern Africa
Taxonomy
The northern subspecies, H. d. marwitzi is darker and smaller than nominate H. d dimidiata, but the differences are small, and the species may be monotypic.
Habitat
Dry scrub, farmland and clearings.
Behaviour
It builds a bowl-shaped mud nest with grass or hair and with a soft lining. It sometimes uses old nests of the Greater Striped Swallow, Hirundo cucullata.
2-3 pure white eggs are laid, and are incubated by the female for 16-17 days. Both parents feed the chicks. Fledging takes another 20-23 days,.
Its diet includes flying insects.
