Brown backed martin from Tanzania (Serengeti) (2 Viewers)

[Garrulous Jay]

Sorry to have caused so much debate here, although maybe that's a good thing? So - more info about location etc. The bird was seen at the Tabora B Gate into the Serengeti NP. It was a bright day and we stopped for lunch here and I sat watching flocks of hirundines zooming around among the buildings. This one in particular was the only one that would keep still enough for me to photograph it as it kept landing on this window-sill and resting for around a minute or two before taking off again. The window was in deep shadow. I have another photo which I now show which shows a pale tail feather quite clearly and not a detail of the sacking behind the bird. But I tend to think it must be an aberration, a leucistic feather? Given the dark nature of the "supralorals" and the dark nature of the "white" underparts, is a hybrid rock/banded out of the question?

 

[Mike Earp]

Sorry to have caused so much debate here, although maybe that's a good thing? So - more info about location etc. The bird was seen at the Tabora B Gate into the Serengeti NP. It was a bright day and we stopped for lunch here and I sat watching flocks of hirundines zooming around among the buildings. This one in particular was the only one that would keep still enough for me to photograph it as it kept landing on this window-sill and resting for around a minute or two before taking off again. The window was in deep shadow. I have another photo which I now show which shows a pale tail feather quite clearly and not a detail of the sacking behind the bird. But I tend to think it must be an aberration, a leucistic feather? Given the dark nature of the "supralorals" and the dark nature of the "white" underparts, is a hybrid rock/banded out of the question?

Could the white on the tail feather be another bird's dropping?

 

[THE_FERN]

I think this confirms Rock Martin. This new pic has a better colour balance and shows that the supralorals and underparts are indeed buffy. Rock martin has white windows in its tail, one of which we see here. Not sure why we need to search further...

 

[Andy Adcock]

For completeness, I think the field guide should point out, just how prominent these 'supralorals' can be.

 

[Butty]

For the underparts, the pattern is the same in all posted/linked photos, and the differences between them lie only in intensity of the orangey, which may simply be a photo or lighting effect. There's no mystery or inconsistency here.

Still applies. Straightforward juvenile rock martin; nothing complicated.