Swallows

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These birds occur around the world and on all continents, as the barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) has been observed a few times in Antarctica. They constitute a large family with 19 genera and about 90 species, with the greatest diversity in Africa.

In Europe, the term swallow is mainly used for species with forked tails, martin mainly for species with squarish tails. In America, however, the term martin is reserved for members of the genus Progne (below).

 

 

The genus may be named for Kekropia, a mythical king of Athens. In his work The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names (2010), J.A. Jobling mentions Kekropis, a woman from Athens, without further explanation.

 

The specific name refers to Abyssinia, an older name for Ethiopia.

 

 

 

 

 

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘hooded’, alluding to the chestnut cap.

 

 

 

 

 

This bird has now been split into 3 separate species, the European red-rumped swallow (below), the African red-rumped swallow (C. melanocrissus), which occurs from the Sahel zone, Sudan, and Eritrea southwards to Zambia, and the eastern red-rumped swallow, which is found from Kazakhstan, Mongolia, south-eastern Siberia, and Japan southwards to central India and Indonesia. The latter includes the formerly accepted striated swallow (C. striolata), which breeds in the Far East and Southeast Asia.

The specific name refers to Dauria, a landscape in south-eastern Siberia, in which a nomadic Mongolian tribe, the Dauuri or Daguuri, once lived. Presumably the type specimen was collected there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The specific name is a diminutive of the Latin rufus (‘reddish’), thus ‘the little reddish one’, alluding to the reddish head and rump.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is an anagram of chelidon, a Latinized version of Ancient Greek khelidon (‘swallow’).

 

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘living in towns’.

Previously, populations further east in Asia were regarded as belonging to this species, but have since been split to form two other species, Asian house martin (D. dasypus) and Siberian house martin (D. lagopodum).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is the classical Latin name of these birds.

 

The specific name refers to the area, where the bird is living, and the common name alludes to the mainly white tail.

 

 

 

 

 

Six subspecies are found across the major part of the Northern Hemisphere. The nominate subspecies rustica breeds in Eurasia, from the Arctic Circle southwards to North Africa, the Middle East and the Himalaya, and from the British Isles eastwards to central Siberia, wintering in Africa, Arabia, and the Indian Subcontinent.

Subspecies transitiva breeds in a small area in the Near East, from southern Turkey southwards to Israel and Jordan. It is partially resident, though some birds winter in East Africa. It differs from rustica by having orange-red underparts and a broken breast band.

Subspecies savignii is resident in Egypt. It differs from transitiva by having deep red underparts and a complete broad breast band.

Subspecies gutturalis has chestnut upper breast, whitish underparts, and a broken breast band. It breeds from the Himalaya eastwards to Korea, Japan, southern China, and Taiwan.

Subspecies tytleri has deep orange-red underparts and an incomplete breast band. It breeds from central Siberia southwards to northern Mongolia, wintering in north-eastern India, Indochina, and Malaysia.

The North American subspecies erythrogaster has chestnut throat and an incomplete blue breast band. The underparts vary from rufous to almost white. It breeds from Alaska to southern Mexico, spending the winter in Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. It has even been observed a few times in Antarctica. Since the 1980s, small numbers have been found nesting in Argentina.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘rural’, derived from ruris (‘countryside’). In his Historiæ animalium, Liber III, published in 1555, Swiss physician and naturalist Konrad Gessner (1516-1565) calls the bird Hirundo domestica, from the Latin domus (‘house’). The barn swallow mostly builds its nest on or inside buildings, very often in stables or barns – hence its common name.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The underside is almost snow-white, the upperparts dark blue, and the cap is chestnut. The female has shorter ‘wires’ on the tail than the male.

The specific name commemorates Norwegian physician, botanist, and geologist Christen Smith (1785-1816). He participated in an expedition to the Canary Islands and Madeira, collecting more than 600 species of plants, of which about 50 were new to science. Later, he joined a scientific expedition, the aim of which was to travel up the Congo River to determine whether it had any connection to the Niger basins further west. The expedition ship HMS Congo was so heavy that it could only negotiate the lower part of the river, and the lighter vessel Dorothy was stopped by rapids 160 km inland. The expedition members continued on foot along the river, but lack of food, hostile natives, and disease soon took their toll, and the expedition members had to turn back. Altogether, 18 of the 56 participants perished, including Smith.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It may be told from the barn swallow (above) by its shorter outer tail feathers, the greyish, checkered vent, and lack of black breast band.

Previously, birds in southern India and Sri Lanka were included in this species, but are now regarded as a separate species, called hill swallow (H. domicola).

All pictures below are from Taiwan, where subspecies namiyei is common in the lowland. It also occurs in the Ryukyu Islands.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek petros (‘rock’) and khelidon (‘swallow’), alluding to a type of swallow building its nest on rocks.

 

The specific name is derived from the Latin fluvius (‘river’) and colere (‘to inhabit’).

 

 

 

 

 

The specific name is derived from Ancient Greek pyrrhos (‘flame-coloured’) and notos (‘-backed’), but the bird was originally described as golondrina rabadilla acanelada (‘swallow with cinnamon-coloured rump’) by Félix de Azara (1746-1821), who was a member of a delegation that was sent to the Río de la Plata region in 1777 to negotiate the border dispute between the Portuguese and Spanish colonies. de Azara ended up spending about 20 years in the area, until 1801. He drew an accurate map of the region, and also began studying birds and mammals, of which he described many new species.

 

 

 

 

 

These birds nest in various cavities, in river banks and buildings, or in old woodpecker holes.

The generic name is taken from the Greek mythology. Procne was a princess, married to King Tereus of Thrace. However, Tereus lusted after her beautiful younger sister Philomela, locked her away, and raped her. Philomela threatened to tell everybody about his conduct, and to prevent her from doing so he cut off her tongue.

When Procne discovered her sister’s awful fate, she took revenge against her husband by murdering their only child, a young boy named Itys, cooked him, and served him as a meal to her husband.

Finishing his meal, Tereus asked where his son was, and Procne told him the truth, hurling the son’s head in his face. Enraged, he grabbed his sword and ran after the fleeing women to kill them. The gods noticed what was going on and transformed them into birds, Tereus to a hoopoe, and the women to a nightingale and a swallow. Greek sources claim that Procne became the nightingale and Philomela the swallow, whereas Roman authors tend to maintain the opposite.

 

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘steel-coloured’, alluding to the steel-blue colour on its back.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek ptyon (‘a fan’), alluding to the shape of the spread-out tail. The second part of the name refers to Procne, a woman in Greek mythology (see Progne above).

 

Previously, this bird was considered being conspecific with two other members of the genus, the pale crag martin (below) and the dusky crag martin (P. concolor) of southern Asia. However, most authorities now regard the latter two as distinct species.

The specific name is derived from the Latin fuligo (‘soot’) and gula (‘throat’), thus ‘sooty-throated’.

 

 

 

 

 

The specific name has several meanings in the Latin, in this connection probably meaning ‘ordinary’, referring to the drab plumage of the bird.

 

 

 

 

 

The nests of these birds are placed many together at the end of tunnels, up to about 1.2 m long, which the birds dig into sand or gravel banks. This fact is reflected in the generic name, which is derived from the Latin ripa (‘riverbank’).

 

The grey-throated martin is found in open habitats, usually near water.

The specific name is an alternative form of the Latin sinensis, meaning ‘Chinese’ or ‘from China’. Presumably, the type specimen was collected there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Like the generic name, derived from Ancient Greek stelgis (‘scraper’) and pteryx (‘wing’), the common name refers to the serrated edge of the wing feathers of these birds.

 

The specific name is derived from the Latin serra (‘saw’) and penna (‘feather’), thus roughly the same meaning as the generic name.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek takhys (‘fast’) and kineto (‘movement’).

 

It nests in holes, and was formerly restricted to forested areas, but since the introduction of nest boxes it is also found in open habitats.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘with two colours’.