Grey-rumped Swallow - BirdForum Opus

Photo by tomjenner
Masai Mara, Kenya, December 2010

Pseudhirundo griseopyga

Hirundo griseopyga

Identification

14 cm (5½ in)

• Dark brown crown and ear-coverts and hind-neck
• Glossy dark blue back and wings
• Greyish-brown rump and uppertail-coverts
• Forked tail

Distribution

Sub-Saharan Africa:
Western Africa: Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Mali, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Benin, Nigeria, Niger, Niger, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola
Eastern Africa: Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi
Southern Africa: Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal, eSwatini

Taxonomy

The only species in the genus Pseudhirundo.

Previously included in genus Hirundo.

Subspecies

There are two subspecies^[1]:

• P. g. griseopyga:

• Southern Ethiopia and Sudan to Kenya, Uganda, Cameroon and northern South Africa

• P. g. melbina:

• Liberia and Guinea-Bissau to Gabon and lower Congo River

Habitat

They are usually seen near water in open woodland, flood plains, savanna and grassland.

Behaviour

Diet

The hawk low over water and open land for insects such as beetles and flies.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2015. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2015, with updates to August 2015. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Avibase
3. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved November 2015)

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Grey-rumped Swallow. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 20 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Grey-rumped_Swallow

External Links

Search for photos of Grey-rumped Swallow in the gallery