The Sri Lanka swallow (''Cecropis hyperythra'') is a resident breeder endemic to

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. It is closely related to the

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 m ...

, and was formerly considered a subspecies.

Description

It 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. Its rufous underside can be used to tell it apart from the

. It is a

passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped') which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines generally have an anisodactyl arrangement of their ...

, which means it has three toes pointing forward and one pointing backward, allowing it to perch.

Habitat

It is found in a variety of open country habitats in both the lowlands and foothills in Sri Lanka, including farm fields and lightly wooded areas.

Behaviour

It usually lives in pairs or small groups.

References

*Rasmussen, P.C., and J.C. Anderton. 2005. Birds of South Asia. The Ripley guide. Volume 2: attributes and status. Smithsonian Institution and Lynx Edicions, Washington D.C. and Barcelona {{Taxonbar, from=Q3136308 Sri Lanka swallow Endemic birds of Sri Lanka Sri Lanka swallow Sri Lanka swallow