Montane Blue Swallow

Photo by Alan Manson
Roselands, near Richmond, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Hirundo atrocaerulea

Identification

Length 18-25 cm. Male: A dark metallic-blue swallow (appears black in poor light) with very long outer tail feathers. Female: Similar to the male, but with a shorter tail.

Distribution

Eastern South Africa, western Swaziland, western Zimbabwe and adjacent Mozambique, Malawi, north-eastern Zambia, south-western Tanzania, and south-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. It visits north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, southern Uganda and western Kenya in the southern winter (BirdLife International, 2007).

Taxonomy

There are two subspecies: H. a. atrocaerulea; and H. a. lynesi.

Habitat

Grasslands in areas of high rainfall. Classified as Vulnerable in the 2007 IUCN Red List, due to the limited range and the threat of habitat loss (BirdLife International, 2007). The species is approaching extinction in South Africa and Swaziland, largely as a result of commercial afforestation in areas that were previously grassland.

Behaviour

The diet includes insects caught aerially.

It builds a cup-shaped nest from mud and grass, lined with fine grass, animal hair and feathers. 3 white eggs are laid and are incubated by the female for 14 days; the young fledge approximately 22 days later.

References

BirdLife International (2007) Species factsheet: Hirundo atrocaerulea. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 25/10/2007.

Lepage D. 2007. Avibase. Search for "Hirundo atrocaerulea" downloaded 25 October 2007.

External Links

Search for photos of Montane Blue Swallow in the gallery