About the Greater Striped Swallow
The greater striped swallow is a large swallow that is native to Africa south of the equator.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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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.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Where it lives
Recorded as a rare visitor in Congo - Kinshasa.
When to see it
Peak activity in December · a variable species across most of its range
Easily confused with
Lesser Striped SwallowCecropis abyssinicaThe lesser striped swallow is 15–10 cm long.
Red-breasted SwallowCecropis semirufaThe 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.
Mosque SwallowCecropis senegalensisThe mosque swallow is the largest and heaviest species of African swallow, resembling a big red-rumped swallow Cecropis daurica.
Side by side: Eastern Red-rumped Swallow vs Greater Striped Swallow · Greater Striped Swallow vs Lesser Striped Swallow
Learn the Greater Striped Swallow for real
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