Black-tipped swallow

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Black-tipped swallow
Black-tipped swallow

Black-tipped swallow

Systematics
Order : Passerines (Passeriformes)
Subordination : Songbirds (passeri)
Family : Swallows (Hirundinidae)
Subfamily : Hirundininae
Genre : Notiochelidon
Type : Black-tipped swallow
Scientific name
Notiochelidon cyanoleuca
( Vieillot , 1817)

The black-tailed swallow ( Notiochelidon cyanoleuca , Syn .: Pygochelidon cyanoleuca ) is a species of bird from the swallow family (Hirundinidae). The species occurs in the South American countries Chile , Argentina , Uruguay , Brazil , Paraguay , Bolivia , Peru , Ecuador , Colombia , Venezuela , Trinidad and Tobago , Guyana , Suriname , French Guiana and the Central American countries Costa Rica and Panama . Every now and then, random visitors find their way to Nicaragua and Mexico . The population is classified as not endangered by the IUCN .

features

The black-tailed swallow reaches a body length of about 12 centimeters with a weight of 10.5 grams. The back color can vary between indigo and green-blue, while the underside, with the exception of the sides and flanks, is adorned with pure white. The under wing coverts are smoky gray-blue to black. Control springs and flight springs as well as their shaft are blackish to black. The under wing-coverts and axillary feathers are dark gray to dark. The under tail-coverts are completely black with a blue tinge. Males and females are similar, with the males having slightly longer tail feathers.

Immature birds have a brown top and a dull pink-brown hue on the throat, which fades into a darker brown on the chest.

distribution and habitat

The swallow is found in both humid and arid climates. She prefers open terrain and forest clearings, often near inhabited areas. Here you can meet them from sea ​​level to 4000 meters. On the tepuis of Venezuela you can see them in colonies near road cuts and rocky outcrops.

behavior

Black tipped swallows on power line

Usually they move skillfully back and forth in loose flocks. They often flap their bent wings and are rarely in gliding. During their rest periods, they sit together with their fellow swallows or other swallows on electricity and telephone lines or leafless branches. They behave extremely territorially, especially near their nests. They build these on cliffs, in holes near river banks, in trees and under roofs. Every now and then they land on earth. During their migration times, up to 1000 animals can be seen flying in flocks from summer to winter quarters and back. They mostly, if not exclusively, feed on insects.

Brood

Males and females build their nests together. For construction they use straws and grass leaves, which they usually collect near roads or cultivated landscapes, even if materials would be much more common in the surrounding wild grasslands. It is assumed that the reason lies in an easier flight take-off in the less densely vegetated areas. Your nest will be built in about a week. They seem to stay away from the nest during lunchtime. During construction, both males and females sleep near the nest. They lay one egg a day in the nest, but there can be two days between the first and second egg. They lay between 2 and 6 white eggs in the nest. Both sexes incubate the eggs together. The incubation period is 15 days, but can also last up to 26 days.

Cladistics

The species is divided into the following subspecies:

  • Notiochelidon cyanoleuca cyanoleuca Vieillot , 1817 Nominatform is present from Costa Rica via Guyana via Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia to the province of Tucumán in northwest Argentina. It is also found in Paraguay, Uruguay and the south and east of Brazil.
  • Notiochelidon cyanoleuca peruviana Chapman , 1922 The subspecies resembles N. c. patagonica , but is a little smaller. The under wing-coverts and armpits are a little lighter. The under tail-coverts are completely black with a blue tinge. The bottom looks a bit grayer. The subspecies occurs on the coast of Peru in the La Libertad region as far as Arequipa .
  • Notiochelidon cyanoleuca patagonica d'Orbigny & Lafresnaye , 1837 Feathers, wing feathers and large wing-coverts are blackish, with the shaft being brownish. The outer control springs are thinly lined with white. The under wing coverts and axillary feathers are mouse gray. The under tail-coverts are white. The subspecies is slightly larger than the nominate form. Immature are very similar in color to adult birds. Comes from central Chile via central Argentina and south to Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego , moving to northern Chile and east to the Andes of Venezuela and Panama. Random fliers rarely even find their way to Mexico. You don't meet them in a typical Puna landscape .

Etymology and history of research

Louis Pierre Vieillot described the swallow under the name Hirundo cyanoleuca . Alcide Dessalines d'Orbigny and Frédéric de Lafresnaye also initially used Hirundo patagonica for their species . Frank Michler Chapman named his subspecies Pygochelidon cyanoleuca peruviana . Only later was it added to the genus Notiochelidon .

Notiochelidon is a synonym for 'Orochelidon' and is made up of the Greek words oreas for 'mountain' and khelidon for 'swallow'. The specific epithet cyanoleuca has its origin in the Greek words kuanos for 'dark blue' and leukos for 'white'. The word peruviana in the subspecies refers to the country of Peru and patagonica to Patagonia .

literature

  • Jon Fjeldså , Niels Krabbe : Birds of the High Andes: A Manual to the Birds of the Temperate Zone of the Andes and Patagonia, South America . Apollo Books, Stenstrup 1990, ISBN 978-87-88757-16-3 .
  • Steven L. Hilty , John A. Gwynne, Guy Tudor , Sophie Webb: Birds of Venezuela . Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey 2002, ISBN 978-0-691-09250-8 .
  • James A. Jobling: Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names . Christopher Helm, London 2010, ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4 ( online [accessed June 20, 2011]).
  • Frank Michler Chapman : The distribution of the swallows of the genus Pygochelidon . In: American Museum novitates . No. 30 , 1922, pp. 1–15 ( online (PDF; 6.8 MB) [accessed June 20, 2011]).
  • Alexander Frank Skutch: Life History of the Blue and White Swallow . In: The Auk . tape 69 , no. 4 , 1952, pp. 392–406 ( online (PDF; 900 kB) [accessed on June 23, 2011]).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Steven L. Hilty al, p. 688
  2. ↑ a b c d e f Jon Fjeldså al, p. 531
  3. ↑ Alexander Frank Skutch p. 393
  4. ↑ Alexander Frank Skutch p. 394
  5. ↑ Alexander Frank Skutch p. 395
  6. ↑ Alexander Frank Skutch p. 396
  7. ↑ Frank Michler Chapman p. 7
  8. ↑ Frank Michler Chapman p. 3
  9. ↑ James A. Jobling p. 284
  10. ↑ James A. Jobling, p. 127
  11. ↑ James A. Jobling p. 299
  12. ↑ James A. Jobling p. 294