Bird Guide

Large Rock Martin vs Pale Crag Martin

Large Rock Martin (Ptyonoprogne fuligula)

Large Rock Martin

Ptyonoprogne fuligula

Small21 gRocky

The large rock martin of the nominate subspecies P. f. fuligula is 12–15 cm (4.7–5.9 in) long, with earth-brown upperparts and a short square tail that has small white patches near the tips of all but the central and outermost pairs of feathers. It has a cinnamon chin, throat, upper breast and underwing coverts, with the rest of the underparts being a similar brown to the upperparts. The eyes are brown, the small bill is mainly black, and the legs are brownish-pink. The sexes are similar in appearance, but juveniles have pale edges to the upperparts and flight feathers.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Ron Knight · CC BY 2.0
Pale Crag Martin (Ptyonoprogne obsoleta)

Pale Crag Martin

Ptyonoprogne obsoleta

Tiny10 gRocky

The pale crag martin of the nominate subspecies P. o. obsoleta is 12–13 centimetres (4+1⁄2–5 inches) long with light brown upperparts, becoming paler on the lower back, and a short square tail that has small white patches near the tips of all but the central and outermost pairs of feathers. It has a pale grey throat, upper breast and underwing coverts, and the rest of the underparts are a dirty white. The eyes are brown, the small bill is mainly black, and the legs are brownish-pink. The wing length averages 13 cm (5 in) and the tail averages 4.8 cm (1+7⁄8 in).

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Jan Ebr & Ivana Ebrová · CC BY 4.0

Where you might meet both

Learn this pair in the BeakBrain App

Photo and call practice. Coming soon to iPhone and Android.

Play today's Daily Bird

Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Large Rock Martin and Pale Crag Martin.