Greater Striped Swallow vs Red-breasted Swallow

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

Red-breasted Swallow

Cecropis semirufa

Small30 gGrassland

The red-breasted swallow is similar to the mosque swallow but is slightly smaller and has longer tail streamers, both species having a blue crown and mantle contrasting with a rufous rump and underparts, In the red-breasted swallow the dark crown extends below the eye and there is no white on the underwing. The juvenile is similar to the red-rumped swallow but has blue on the side of the head rather than dull red.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Andrew Deacon · CC0

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