African River Martin

ID tip

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the African River Martin

One bar for each month. Filled bars are the 6 months with records; pale bars are months with none. The wide bar is October, the month with the most records.

Where to see the African River Martin

The map shades 2 countries with regular records. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

About the African River Martin

The African river martin is a passerine bird, one of two members of the river martin subfamily of the swallow family, Hirundinidae. When discovered, it was not initially recognised as a swallow, and its structural differences from most of its relatives, including its stout bill and robust legs and feet, have led to its current placement in a separate subfamily shared only with the Asian white-eyed river martin. The African river martin is a large swallow, mainly black with a blue-green gloss to the head and a greener tint to the back and wings. The under-wings are brownish, the underparts are purple-black, and the flight feathers are black.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

Congo MartinRiparia congicaThe 11 cm long Congo martin is light brown above with a slightly darker crown and wings. Forest SwallowAtronanus fuliginosusThe forest swallow is a little-known species of swallow in the family Hirundinidae, found in Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and Nigeria. Brazza's MartinPhedinopsis brazzaeThe Brazza's martin is 12 cm (4.7 in) long with wings averaging 100.5 mm (3.96 in).