Sinaloas tern

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Sinaloas tern
Systematics
Order : Passerines (Passeriformes)
Subordination : Songbirds (passeri)
Family : Swallows (Hirundinidae)
Subfamily : Hirundininae
Genre : Progne
Type : Sinaloas tern
Scientific name
Progne sinaloae
Nelson , 1898

The Sinaloaswalbe ( Progne sinaloae ) is a songbird species from the swallow family (Hirundinidae). It occurs in western Mexico .

features

The Sinaloas tern reaches a size of 17 to 18 cm. The male is predominantly shiny steel blue. The wings and forked tail are black. The underbust, the belly and the under tail-coverts are white. Indistinct, dark stripes of the shaft can be seen on the under tail-coverts. Compared to the male of the related gray-breasted swallow ( Progne chalybea ), the contrast between the white and darker areas on the underside is stronger. The female is generally darker. The top is sometimes marbled gray-brown. The face, throat, chest and flanks are dark brown. The light center of the throat contrasts with the darker breast. Belly and under tail-covers are white. The juvenile birds have not yet been described. Annual males are similar to adult females except for the blue feathers on top. There is no record of the call.

Occurrence

The Sinaloas tern breeds in western Mexico from northeastern Sonora to Jalisco and Michoacán. The winter quarters are unknown. They are probably in South America.

habitat

The Sinaloas tern lives in pine forests, mixed forests of pine and oak as well as semi-open woodland at altitudes up to 2000 m.

Way of life

Little research has been done on the way of life of the Sinaloas tern. It is a migratory bird that migrates along the Pacific coast between Mexico and Guatemala. Their flight movements are alternately gliding and flapping. The swallows can be seen at the breeding grounds between March and August. The nests are probably in tree hollows. More is not known about the breeding behavior.

status

The IUCN classifies the Sinaloas tern as "endangered" ( vulnerable ). It is described as infrequent to fairly common. Their breeding areas are known only from nine sides on the western slopes of the Sierra Madre Occidental in the states of Sonora, Jalisco and Michoacán.

Systematics

The Sinaloas tern was at times considered as a population of the Cuban tern ( Progne cryptoleuca ) or as a subspecies of the Dominican tern ( Progne dominicensis ) and the purple swallow ( Progne subis ). Hybridizations with the gray-breasted swallow ( Progne chalybea ) are known.

literature

  • del Hoyo, J., Elliot, A. & Christie D. (Editors): Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 9: Cotingas to Pipits and Wagtails , Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2004, ISBN 84-87334-69-5

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