About the Wire-tailed Swallow
The wire-tailed swallow is a small passerine bird in the swallow family. It has two subspecies: H. s. smithii, which occurs throughout Africa, and H. s. filifera, which is found in southern and southeastern Asia. It is mainly resident, but populations in Pakistan and northern India migrate further south in winter. The genus name Hirundo is the Latin word for swallow. The species name smithii commemorates Christen Smith, a Norwegian botanist and geologist.
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ID tip
The wire-tailed swallow is a small swallow, measuring 18 cm (7.1 in) in length. It has bright blue upperparts, bright white underparts and a chestnut cap. Immature birds lack tail wires, and have dull brown (rather than chestnut) caps. The species is named for the very long filamentous outermost tail feathers, which trail behind like two wires. The sexes are similar in appearance, but the female has shorter "wires". Juveniles have a brown crown, back and tail. The Asian form, H. s. filifera, is larger and longer-tailed than the abundant African H. s. smithii.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Where it lives
Recorded as a rare visitor in Chad, Sri Lanka, Eritrea, Mauritania.
When to see it
Peak activity in February · a resident species across most of its range
Easily confused with
White-throated SwallowHirundo albigularisThe white-throated swallow is 14–17 cm long.
Pacific SwallowHirundo javanicaThis species is a small swallow at 13 cm (5.1 in) in length.
Pearl-breasted SwallowHirundo dimidiataThe pearl-breasted swallow is 13–14 cm long.
Side by side: Barn Swallow vs Wire-tailed Swallow · Welcome Swallow vs Wire-tailed Swallow · Pacific Swallow vs Wire-tailed Swallow · White-throated Swallow vs Wire-tailed Swallow
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