- Psalidoprocne pristoptera
Includes Petit's, Shari, Blue, Brown, Ethiopian, Mangbettu and Eastern Sawwing
Identification
Length 17 cm, mass 11-13 g.
Adult: Plumage black with greenish gloss (head, body and lesser and median upper coverts) to blackish brown (flight feathers and greater wing coverts). The bill is black, the eyes dark brown, and the legs and feet are purplish.
Distribution
Africa: Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and Ethiopia in the north to eastern and southern South Africa in the south.
Taxonomy
12 subspecies accepted which are sometimes split in no fewer than 7 species:
- P. p. petiti - Petit's Sawwing - from SE Nigeria east to Central African Republic and Democratic Republic of Congo
- P. p. chalybea - Shari Sawwing - from SE Nigeria east to Central African Republic and Democratic Republic of Congo
- P. p. pristoptera - Blue Sawwing - Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia
- P. p. antinorii and P. p. blanfordi - Brown Sawwing - Ethiopia
- P. p. oleaginea - Ethiopian Sawwing - SW Ethiopia
- P. p. mangbettorum - Mangbettu Sawwing - NW Democratic Republic of Congo to SW Sudan
- P. p. orientalis and P. p. reichenowi - Eastern Sawwing - From Gabon and Angola east to Zambia, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Mozambique
- P. p. holomelas with ruwenzori and massaica - Black Sawwing - From Uganda to Kenya and Tanzania and south to South Africa
Habitat
Forest fringes, often near wetlands; also fringes of closed woodland.
Behaviour
Forages for aerial arthropods while flying fairly slowly in clearings and between trees.
Breeding: Monogamous. Nests in a burrow excavated in a soil bank that may be as low as 45 cm. One to three eggs are laid September to March.


