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GrasslandCavity nestSmall · 30 g
ID tip
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.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
When to see the Red-breasted Swallow
One bar for each month. Filled bars are the 8 months with records; pale bars are months with none. The wide bar is November, the month with the most records.
Where to see the Red-breasted Swallow
The map shades 32 countries with regular records, and 1 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.
Recorded as a rare visitor in Lesotho.
About the Red-breasted Swallow
The red-breasted swallow, also known as the rufous-chested swallow, is a member of the family Hirundinidae, found in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is confined to the tropical rainforest during the wet season.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Easily confused with
Mosque SwallowCecropis senegalensisThe mosque swallow is the largest and heaviest species of African swallow, resembling a big red-rumped swallow Cecropis daurica.
Sri Lanka SwallowCecropis hyperythraIt is a large swallow with a tail which forks deeply, and the combination of deep rufous underside and navy blue rump without any marks is a unique feature of this species.
Rufous-bellied SwallowCecropis badiaThe rufous-bellied swallow is a species of swallow that breeds on the Malay Peninsula.
Side by side: Eastern Red-rumped Swallow vs Red-breasted Swallow · Greater Striped Swallow vs Red-breasted Swallow · Lesser Striped Swallow vs Red-breasted Swallow · Mosque Swallow vs Red-breasted Swallow · Red-breasted Swallow vs Sri Lanka Swallow
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