- Psalidoprocne albiceps
Identification
13 cm
A stocky, dark rather short-tailed Swallow.
Males have white heads with a dark eyeline whilst females are mainly sooty on the head feathering but with white feathering showing through on the crown.
Juveniles are a uniform sooty colour.
Distribution
Africa:
Western Africa: Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola
Eastern Africa: Sudan, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia and Malawi
South Sudan and Kenya to Angola and Malawi.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
There are two subspecies[1]:
- P. a. albiceps:
- Southeastern South Sudan,eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, and western Kenya south to northern Zambia and northern Malawi
- P. a. suffusa:
- Northern Angola to extreme south-western Democratic Republic of the Congo
Habitat
This species is found primarily in forest/forest edge including riparian woodland extending into wooded highland grasslands.
Behaviour
Diet
Their diet consists of flying ants, beetles and flies.
Breeding
It nests in sand/soil banks.
Gallery
Click on photo for larger image
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Avibase
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved March 2015)
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) White-headed Saw-wing. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 20 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/White-headed_Saw-wing
