- Hirundo tahitica
Includes: Hill Swallow
Identification
14cm. Sexes similar. Blue back, brown wings and tail, red face and throat, dusky underparts.
Similar Species
Similar to Barn Swallow and Welcome Swallow but is shorter and the tail is less forked. Juveniles are browner.
Distribution
South India to Japan and the Philippines, New Guinea and Tahiti.
Taxonomy
Subspecies[1]
- H.t.domicola S India and Sri Lanka
- H.t.javanica (abbotti, mallopega) Andamans and Myanmar to Indochina, Sundas, Wallacea, Philippines
- H.t.namiyei Ryukyu Islands and Taiwan
- H.t.frontalis N and w New Guinea
- H.t.ambiens New Britain (Bismarck Archipelago)
- H.t.subfusca New Ireland to Solomons, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji and Tonga
- H.t.tahitica Society Islands (Moorea and Tahiti)
Domicola from southern India is sometimes split as Hill Swallow.
Habitat
Coasts, but is increasingly spreading to forested uplands.
Behaviour
Diet includes insects, especially flies, while airborne. Call: high pitched tweet in alarm; otherwise a cheerful twittering. They build nests of mud and pellets combined with dry grasses on vertical surfaces with overhangs. 3 white eggs with brown spots are laid.
