The Fanti saw-wing (''Psalidoprocne obscura''), also known as the Fanti rough-winged swallow, is a small

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 ...

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

in the

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 ...

family. The Fanti saw-wing has often described as the most beautiful of the swallows, owing to its uniformly shimmering green plumage.

Description

This is a small swallow at 17 cm. Its plumage is glossy green. The tail is long and deeply forked. Sexes are similar, but the female has a shorter tail. Juveniles are brown with little gloss, and have short tails.

Distribution and habitat

The Fanti saw-wing breeds in the lowlands of southern west

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

from

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

. It is mainly resident, apart from seasonal movements. This bird is found in open country, including light woodland, near water. Fanti saw-wings are graceful flyers and they generally feed on

insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...

s, including beetles, while airborne. They are typically seen low over water or grassland. The lined nests are built in a 60 cm burrow in a vertical bank. The clutch is two eggs.

References

* ''Birds of The Gambia'' by Barlow, Wacher and Disley, * ''Swallows and Martins'' by Turner and Rose Fanti saw-wing Birds of West Africa Fanti saw-wing {{Hirundinidae-stub