From Opus

Photo by Gary Clark
Location: Chancani Reserve, Cordoba Province, Argentina.

Progne tapera

[edit] Identification

Dull grey-brown upperparts, whitish underparts with brown chest and center of breast, dark crown, dark eye and bill.

[edit] Distribution

Suriname, Argentina, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Costa Rica, Uruguay, Ecuador, Falkland Islands, French Guiana, Paraguay, Guyana, Panama, United States, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

[edit] Taxonomy

Two subspecies are recognized:^[1]

• P. t. tapera - East Colombia to Bolivia, the Guianas and Amazonian Brazil
• P. t. fusca - Southeast Brazil to Paraguay, east Bolivia, Uruguay and northern Argentina

Has been placed in the genus Phaeoprogne in the past.

[edit] Habitat

Dry savanna, and seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland.^[2]

[edit] Behaviour

• Diet: Like other swallows, they catch insects on the wing in long, fast, swooping flights that may last for hours. Adaptations for this include short bills and a wide gape. Between forays they perch on wires or small tree limbs.
• Breeding: Swallow pairs are monogamous. 4-5 white eggs are laid.

[edit] References

1. Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist.
2. Wikipedia

• List of references

[edit] External Links