Bird Guide

Eastern Red-rumped Swallow vs Greater Striped Swallow

Eastern Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica)

Eastern Red-rumped Swallow

Cecropis daurica

Small22 gGrassland

The eastern red-rumped swallow is 19 cm long with a deeply forked tail. It has blue upperparts other than a reddish collar (sometimes absent) and streaked chestnut rump. The face and underparts are white with heavy dark streaking. The wings are brown. The sexes are alike but juveniles are duller and browner, with a paler rump and shorter outer tail feathers. The population in mainland India, C. d. erythropygia, has the rump patch uniform dark chestnut without any dark shaft-streaks. The tail fork is shallow and the white patch on the inner web of the outer-tail feathers is indistinct. C. d.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Recording: Sonothèque ADVL · CC0
Photo: yvesbas · CC BY 4.0
Greater Striped Swallow (Cecropis cucullata)

Greater Striped Swallow

Cecropis cucullata

Small27 gGrassland

The greater striped swallow is 18–20 cm (7.1–7.9 in) long. It has dark blue upperparts with a pale orange rump and a chestnut crown, nape and sides of the head. The underparts and underwing coverts are creamy white with dark streaking, and the upper wings and underwing flight feathers are blackish-brown. The blackish tail has very long outer feathers; these are slightly longer in the male than the female. Juveniles are duller and browner, with less contrast and shorter outer tail feathers. The flight is slow and buoyant, and the call is a twittering chissick.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: bdhimes · CC0

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Eastern Red-rumped Swallow and Greater Striped Swallow.