Cecropis cucullata
The Greater Striped Swallow (Cecropis cucullata) is a striking passerine bird of the Hirundinidae family, notable for its glossy blue-black upperparts contrasting with a deep rufous crown, nape, and rump. Measuring 18-20 cm in length, including its long, deeply forked tail streamers, and boasting a wingspan of 30-34 cm with a mass of 22-29 grams, it is a robust aerial insectivore. Its most distinctive field mark is the heavily streaked rufous-buff to creamy-white underparts, which immediately...
This swallow thrives in open country, including grasslands, savannas, farmlands, and often urban or semi-urban areas, usually in proximity to water. It can be found from sea level up to altitudes exceeding 2500 meters.
Their diet consists almost exclusively of a wide array of flying insects, including flies, beetles, ants, and termites, which they expertly catch on the wing.
Greater Striped Swallows are highly diurnal, spending most of their day in graceful, agile flight, foraging for insects. Outside the breeding season, they often roost communally in reed beds or on man-made structures. Foraging involves acrobatic aerial pursuits, deftly snatching prey mid-air, oft...
The primary breeding range of the Greater Striped Swallow is restricted to southern Africa, encompassing South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, southern Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and southern Mozambique. Many populations within this core area are migratory, moving north during the southern winter. T...
Least Concern
- The Greater Striped Swallow constructs one of the most elaborate mud nests of any swallow, featuring a distinctive retort or gourd shape with a long, narrow tunnel entrance. - These swallows show a remarkable affinity for human-made structures, frequently building their nests under bridges, cul...