Rufous-Chested Swallow.
Hirundo semirufa.
Very like the Mosque Swallow and rather difficult to distinguish from it.
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Rufous-Chested Swallow. Hirundo semirufa. Very like the Mosque Swallow and rather difficult to distinguish from it. |
| Recognition: Small. Of the upperparts, only the rump is rufous ( not the back of the neck as in the Mosque Swallow). The entire underparts are rufous. The remaining upperparts, including the upper half of the head down to the level of the eyes, deep-blue. Distinctly smaller than the Mosque Swallow and possessing exceptionally long tail-forks. |
| Distribution: Throughout West Africa but subject to local migration. |
| Habits: Usually in small flocks. The flight is sometimes low over open ground but is characteristically fairly high and involves more flapping and turning than gliding. Often perch in trees as well as on wires. Nests are made in the early rains in a variety of situations, notably below culverts and within porches and verandahs of houses. The nest is flask-shaped with long neck, made from mud pellets. |
| Call: A twittering and high-pitched song, both on the wing and when perched. Lacks the twanging quality of the Mosque Swallow's call. |
