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Swallows
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 term "swallow" is used as the common name for ''barn swallow, Hirundo rustica'' in the UK and Ireland. Around 90 species of Hirundinidae are known, divided into 21 genus, genera, with the greatest diversity found in Africa, which is also thought to be where they evolved as hole-nesters. They also occur on a number of oceanic islands. A number of European and North American species are long-distance bird migration, migrants; by contrast, the West and South African swallows are nonmigratory. This family comprises two subfamilies: Pseudochelidoninae (the river martins of the genus ''Pseudochelidon'') and Hirundininae (all other swallows, martins, and saw-wings). In the Old World, the name "martin" tends to be used for the squarer-tailed specie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barn Swallow
The barn swallow (''Hirundo rustica'') is the most widespread species of swallow in the world, occurring on all continents, with vagrants reported even in Antarctica. It is a distinctive passerine bird with blue upperparts and a long, deeply forked tail. In English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, it is just called the swallow; in northern Europe, it is the only member of family Hirundinidae called a "swallow" rather than a "Martin (bird), martin". There are six subspecies of barn swallow, which breed across the Northern Hemisphere. Two subspecies, (''H. r. savignii and H. r. transitiva'') have fairly restricted ranges in the Nile valley and eastern Mediterranean, respectively. The other four are more widespread, with winter ranges covering much of the Southern Hemisphere. The barn swallow is a bird of open country that normally nests in man-made structures and consequently has spread with human expansion. It builds a cup bird nest, nest from mud pellets in barns or similar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sand Martin
The sand martin (''Riparia riparia''), also known as collared sand martin or common sand martin, and in the Americas as the bank swallow, is a migratory passerine bird in the swallow family Hirundinidae. It has a wide range in summer, embracing practically the whole Holarctic area, from Europe, across Asia to the Pacific Ocean, and throughout North America. It winters in eastern and southern Africa, southern Asia, and South America. Taxonomy This species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'', and originally named ''Hirundo riparia''; the description consisted of the simple "''H rundocinerea, gula abdomineque albis''" ("an ash-grey swallow, with white throat and belly") and the type locality was simply given as "Europa", subsequently refined to refer to Linnaeus's homeland of Sweden. The specific name means "of the riverbank"; it is derived from the Latin ''ripa'' "riverbank". There are three or four weakly-defined subspecies: * ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bird Migration
Bird migration is a seasonal movement of birds between breeding and wintering grounds that occurs twice a year. It is typically from north to south or from south to north. Animal migration, Migration is inherently risky, due to predation and mortality. The Arctic tern holds the long-distance migration record for birds, travelling between Arctic breeding grounds and the Antarctic each year. Some species of Procellariiformes, tubenoses, such as albatrosses, circle the Earth, flying over the southern oceans, while others such as Manx shearwaters migrate between their northern breeding grounds and the southern ocean. Shorter migrations are common, while longer ones are not. The shorter migrations include altitudinal migrations on mountains, including the Andes and Himalayas. The timing of migration seems to be controlled primarily by changes in day length. Migrating birds navigate using celestial cues from the Sun and stars, the Earth's magnetic field, and mental maps. Histor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pied-winged Swallow
The pied-winged swallow (''Hirundo leucosoma'') is a species of bird in the family Hirundinidae. It has distinctive steel-blue upperparts with white wing patches. It is native to parts of West Africa. Taxonomy The pied-winged swallow was described by the English ornithologist William Swainson in 1837 who introduced its current binomial name ''Hirundo leucosoma''. The specific epithet combines the Ancient Greek words ''leukos'', "white" and ''sōma, sōmatos'', "body". The species is monotypic. Evolutionarily, the pied-winged swallow occupies a basal position within the clade of ''Hirundo'' swallows and is most closely related to the pearl-breasted swallow (''Hirundo dimidiata''). Description The pied-winged swallow is about long with glossy steel-blue wings and head. Most of the underside of the bird is white, with additional white patches found on special wing feathers. The tail is also steel-blue, but has green reflections. Females and juveniles typically have shorter ta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hirundo
The bird genus ''Hirundo'' is a group of passerines in the family Hirundinidae (swallows and martins). The genus name is Latin for a swallow. These are the typical swallows, including the widespread barn swallow. Many of this group have blue backs, red on the face and sometimes the rump or nape, and whitish or rufous underparts. With fifteen species this genus is the largest in its family. Taxonomy The genus ''Hirundo'' was introduced in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of Systema Naturae, tenth edition of his ''Systema Naturae''. The genus name is the Latin word for a swallow. Linnaeus included eight species in the genus and of these William Swainson designated the barn swallow (''Hirundo rustica'') as the type species. Extant species The genus contains sixteen species. The linear sequence is based on two molecular phylogenetic studies published in 2005 and 2018. Extinct species There are at least two fossil species included in this genus: *† ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Progne
''Progne'' is a genus of passerine birds in the swallow family Hirundinidae. The species are found in the New World and all have "martin" in their common name. Taxonomy The genus ''Progne'' was introduced in 1826 by the German zoologist Friedrich Boie for the purple martin. The genus name refers to Procne (Πρόκνη), a Greek mythology, mythological girl who was turned into a swallow to save her from her husband. She had killed their son to avenge the rape of her sister. The genus contains nine species: References Progne, Hirundinidae Bird genera Birds of the Americas, Taxa named by Friedrich Boie {{Hirundinidae-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
