The striated swallow (''Cecropis striolata'') is a species of
swallow
The swallows, martins, and saw-wings, or Hirundinidae, are a family of passerine songbirds found around the world on all continents, including occasionally in Antarctica. Highly adapted to aerial feeding, they have a distinctive appearance. The ...
found in open, often hilly, areas with clearings and cultivation across
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...
to northeastern
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
and
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
.
The striated swallow was formerly sometimes considered a subspecies of the
red-rumped swallow
The red-rumped swallow (''Cecropis daurica'') is a small passerine bird in the swallow family. It breeds in open hilly country of temperate southern Europe and Asia from Portugal and Spain to Japan, India, Sri Lanka and tropical Africa. The India ...
.
Description
The striated swallow is 19 cm long with a deeply forked tail. It has blue upperparts other than a reddish collar (sometimes absent) and streaked chestnut rump. The face and underparts are white with heavy dark streaking. The wings are brown. The sexes are alike but juveniles are duller and browner, with a paler rump and shorter outer tail feathers.
There are four races:
*''C. s. striolata'' breeds in Taiwan, the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
and
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
.
*''C. s. mayri'' breeds from northeastern
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
to northwestern
Myanmar
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
and northeastern
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
.
It has broader streaks than nominate ''striolata''.
*''C. s. stanfordi'' breeds from northeastern Myanmar to northern
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
. It has broad streaks.
*''C. s. vernayi'' breeds locally in western Thailand. It is more
rufous
Rufous () is a color that may be described as reddish-brown or brownish-red, as of rust or oxidised iron. The first recorded use of ''rufous'' as a color name in English was in 1782. However, the color is also recorded earlier in 1527 as a dia ...
below than the nominate race, and is only faintly streaked on the rump.
This species, particularly subspecies ''mayri'', is very similar to the red-rumped swallow of the race ''japonicus'', but is larger, more heavily streaked, and has a less distinct neck collar.
Behavior
The contact call is ''pin'', the alarm is ''chi-chi-chi'', and the song is a soft twittering.
Migration
The island subspecies are essentially resident, but the continental races ''mayri'' and ''stanfordi'' are partial
migrants which move south in the winter.
Breeding
The striated swallow breeds from April to July alone or semi-colonially with scattered nests. The nest is a retort or bottle-shaped structure, made from mud pellets and lined with dried grasses and feathers. The clutch is usually four, sometimes five, white eggs. Both sexes build the nest, and share incubation and the care of the young.
Nests are constructed in natural caves, but very often in artificial sites on bridges, in culverts and on buildings.
Feeding
The striated swallow feeds low over the ground or at cliff faces on flying insects. It has a slow buoyant flight compared to the
barn swallow
The barn swallow (''Hirundo rustica'') is the most widespread species of swallow in the world. In fact, it appears to have the largest natural distribution of any of the world's passerines, ranging over 251 million square kilometres globally. ...
. It will feed with other swallow species.
References
*
*
*Robson ''Birds of Thailand''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1591061
striated swallow
Birds of Northeast India
Birds of Southeast Asia
Birds of Taiwan
Birds of Yunnan
striated swallow