- Tachycineta leucopyga
Identification
11-13cm (4¼-5 in)
Glossy blue-black upperparts with white rump, white underparts including undertail coverts, and grey underwing-coverts.
Distribution
South America: Breeding in Chile, and south-west Argentina. Northern populations are resident while southern populations migrate to Bolivia, Paraguay and south-east Brazil (and according to some sources, to Peru.
Reports of vagrancy to Curaçao might be in error.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species[1].
Closely related to White-rumped Swallow.
Some authorities formerly used the scientific name Tachycineta meyeni.
Habitat
Open habitats near water, forests, temperate grassland and pastureland.
Behaviour
Actions
They fly fast and low to the ground or over the water's surface, often in flocks, especially when not breeding.
Diet
Their insectivorous diet includes flies (Diptera), beetles (Coleoptera), Hymenoptera (flying ants) and heteropteran bugs.
Breeding
Breeds in holes both natural such as in trees, and man-made, such as under the eaves of buildings. Nest is made of mud. The clutch is four to six white, unmarked eggs. Up to three broods may be raised each year. Solitary, or in loose groups if suitable nest sites are available.
Movements
Resident in the north; migratory in the south, moving north and east to spend non-breeding season in extreme southern Brazil, Uruguay, and sometimes Bolivia.
Vocalisations
Has a gurgling song ending with lower-pitched guttural phrases. Call is a harsh, nasal, buzzy dzzk.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2018. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2018. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Restall et al. 2006. Birds of Northern South America. Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300124156
- Arthur Grosset
- Marion, J. S. (2010). Chilean Swallow (Tachycineta leucopyga), version 1.0. In Neotropical Birds Online (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/nb.chiswa1.01
- Turner, A. (2019). Chilean Swallow (Tachycineta meyeni). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com/node/57708 on 25 January 2019).
- Mlíkovský, J., and S. Frahnert. 2009. Nomenclatural notes on Neotropical swallows of the genus Tachycineta Cabanis (Aves: Hirundinidae). Zootaxa 2209: 65–68
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Chilean Swallow. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 6 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Chilean_Swallow