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Cecropis (tribe)
''Cecropis'' is a genus of large swallows found in Africa and tropical Asia. The red-rumped swallow's range also extends into southern Europe, and (in small numbers) into Australia. This genus is frequently subsumed into the larger genus ''Hirundo''. The swallow family Hirundinidae consists of 92 bird species which typically hunt insects in flight. The two river martins have long been recognised as very distinctive, and are placed in a separate subfamily, Pseudochelidoninae, leaving all other swallows and martins in the Hirundininae. DNA studies suggest that there are three major groupings within the Hirundininae subfamily, broadly correlating with the type of nest built. The groups are the "core martins" including burrowing species like the sand martin, the "nest-adopters", with birds like the tree swallow which use natural cavities, and the "mud nest builders". The ''Cecropsis'' species construct a closed mud nest and therefore belong to the latter group. It is believed that t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Red-rumped Swallow
The European red-rumped swallow (''Cecropis rufula'') is a small passerine bird in the swallow family Hirundinidae. It breeds in open hilly country of southern Europe and north Africa east to Iran, Pakistan and northwest India. During winter it migrates to Africa and southwest Asia. It was formerly considered to be a subspecies of the eastern red-rumped swallow (''Cecropis daurica''), united under the common name of “red-rumped swallow”. European red-rumped swallows are somewhat similar in habits and appearance to the other aerial insectivores, such as the related swallows and the unrelated swifts (order Apodiformes). They have blue upperparts and dusky underparts. They resemble barn swallows, but are darker below and have pale or reddish rumps, face and neck collar. They lack a breast band, but have black undertails. They are fast fliers and they swoop on insects while airborne. They have broad but pointed wings. European red-rumped swallows build quarter-sphere nests with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
