Red-rumped Swallow
A species of Cecropis Scientific name : Cecropis daurica Genus : Cecropis
Red-rumped Swallow, A species of Cecropis
Botanical name: Cecropis daurica
Genus: Cecropis
Content
Description People often ask General Info
Photo By Francesco Veronesi , used under CC-BY-SA-2.0 /Cropped and compressed from original
Description
The red-rumped swallow (Cecropis daurica) is a small passerine bird in the swallow family. It breeds in open hilly country of temperate southern Europe and Asia from Portugal and Spain to Japan, India, Sri Lanka and tropical Africa. The Indian and African birds are resident, but European and other Asian birds are migratory. They winter in Africa or India and are vagrants to Christmas Island and northern Australia. Red-rumped swallows are somewhat similar in habits and appearance to the other aerial insectivores, such as the related swallows and the unrelated swifts (order Apodiformes). They have blue upperparts and dusky underparts. They resemble barn swallows, but are darker below and have pale or reddish rumps, face and neck collar. They lack a breast band, but have black undertails. They are fast fliers and they swoop on insects while airborne. They have broad but pointed wings. Red-rumped swallows build quarter-sphere nests with a tunnel entrance lined with mud collected in their beaks, and lay 3 to 6 eggs. They normally nest under cliff overhangs in their mountain homes, but will readily adapt to buildings such as mosques and bridges. They do not normally form large breeding colonies, but are gregarious outside the breeding season. Many hundreds can be seen at a time on the plains of India.
Size
17 cm
Colors
Brown
Black
Gray
White
Blue
Orange
Life Expectancy
15 years
Feeding Habits
Red-rumped Swallow primarily consumes insects, captured in flight using agile aerial maneuvers. This bird species exhibits a preference for flying prey, demonstrating specialized hunting techniques tailored to its aerial lifestyle.
Habitat
Red-rumped Swallow typically inhabits open, hilly terrain such as river valleys, gorges, and mountains. The species is adaptable and can also be found in cultivated landscapes, near sea cliffs, and within urban areas. Its elevation range extends from sea level up to 3900 meters in some regions. During breeding, red-rumped Swallow shows a preference for areas with human structures, which are used for nesting. In the non-breeding season, red-rumped Swallow moves to grasslands, farmlands, and forest clearings, and commonly roosts in reedbeds. Red-rumped Swallow's habitat spans broad geographical regions, encompassing parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, with certain populations exhibiting migratory or sedentary behaviors.
Dite type
Insectivorous
People often ask
General Info
Sounds
Call
Recording location: Portugal
Song
Recording location: Tanzania
Call
Recording location: Zambia
Behavior
These swallows are usually found over grassland where they hawk insects. They may sometimes take advantage of grass fires and grazing cattle that flush insects into the air.
Distribution Area
The red-rumped swallow breeds across southern Europe and Asia east to southern Siberia and Japan, These populations, along with Moroccan birds, are migratory, wintering in sub-Saharan Africa or south Asia. There are resident races in Africa in a broad belt from West Africa east to Ethiopia and then south to Tanzania, and most Indian and Sri Lanka breeders are also year-round residents. The African and Asian subspecies may undertake local seasonal movements. This species is a regular vagrant outside its breeding range.
Species Status
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is the organisation responsible for assessing the conservation status of species. A species is assessed as subject to varying levels of threat if it has a small, fragmented or declining range, or if the total population is less than 10,000 mature individuals, or numbers have dropped by more than 10% in ten years or with a continuing decline generations. Red-rumped swallow has a huge range and a population numbered in millions. It is not known to be seriously declining in range or numbers, so it is classed as Least Concern. The red-rumped swallow is extending its range northward in Europe, colonising France and Romania in recent decades. The European population is estimated as 100,000 to 430,000 breeding pairs or 300,000 to 1,290,000 individuals.
Photo By Francesco Veronesi , used under CC-BY-SA-2.0 /Cropped and compressed from original
Scientific Classification
Phylum
Chordates Class
Birds Order
Perching birds Family
Swallows Genus
Cecropis Species
Red-rumped Swallow