- Cecropis striolata
Hirundo striolata
Identification
19 cm (7½ in)
- Deeply forked tail
- Blue upperparts
- Reddish collar (sometimes absent)
- Streaked chestnut rump
- White face and underparts with heavy dark streaking
- Brown wings
The sexes are alike
Juveniles are duller and browner, with a paler rump and shorter outer tail feathers.
Distribution
Asia: found froim north-eastern India, Taiwan south to Timor.
Taxonomy
Previously included in genus Hirundo.
Subspecies
There are four races[1]:
- C. s mayri: the streaks are broader than on the nominate
- C. s stanfordi: they have broad streaks
- C. s vernayi: more rufous underparts than nominate, rump has only faint streaks
- Thailand/Tenasserim border and western Thailand
- C. s striolata:
- Greater and Lesser Sundas to the Philippines and Taiwan
The former subspecies badia from the Malay Peninsula was split as Rufous-bellied Swallow.
Habitat
Forage in open areas, often near water and towns and particularly in hills or gorges associated with water.
Behaviour
Action
Flight is slow, buoyant, and more direct than Barn Swallow, often very high above ground.
Breeding
Bottle-shaped mud nests are built under eaves of houses, under bridges, and on the walls and roofs of caves. Breeding recorded in May and June.
The nest is made from mud and includes a long tunnel. The clutch consists of 4-5 white eggs; both adults build the nest, incubate the eggs and care for the young.
Diet
The diet consists of flying insects, cicadas and mosquitoes.
They feel alone or in small groups.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2016. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2016, with updates to August 2016. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved November 2016)
- Wikipedia
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Striated Swallow. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 19 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Striated_Swallow
