There five races of Striated Swallow. The Malaysian Peninsula's one is called H.s.Badia. It has faintly streaked deep rufous underparts, and an unstreaked rump. It is sometimes raised to species status as the Rufous-bellied Swallow, Hirundo badia except it is larger, more heavily streaked, and has a less distinct neck collar. Striated Swallow is 19 cm long with a deeply forked tail.
The sexes are alike but juveniles are duller and browner, with a paler rump and shorter outer tail feathers.
Striated Swallow breeds from February to September alone or semi-colonially with scattered nests. The nest is a retort or bottle shaped structure, made from mud pellets and lined with dried grasses and feathers. The clutch is usually four, sometimes five, white eggs except for badia, where two eggs is normal. Both sexes build the nest, and share incubation and the care of the young. Nests are constructed in natural caves, but very often in artificial sites on bridges, in culverts and on buildings.
They are found water shed open ground and cliff side upto an elevation of 2,400m. Striated Swallow feeds low over the ground or at cliff faces on flying insects. It has a slow buoyant flight compared to Barn Swallow. It will feed with other swallow species.
The sexes are alike but juveniles are duller and browner, with a paler rump and shorter outer tail feathers.
Striated Swallow breeds from February to September alone or semi-colonially with scattered nests. The nest is a retort or bottle shaped structure, made from mud pellets and lined with dried grasses and feathers. The clutch is usually four, sometimes five, white eggs except for badia, where two eggs is normal. Both sexes build the nest, and share incubation and the care of the young. Nests are constructed in natural caves, but very often in artificial sites on bridges, in culverts and on buildings.
They are found water shed open ground and cliff side upto an elevation of 2,400m. Striated Swallow feeds low over the ground or at cliff faces on flying insects. It has a slow buoyant flight compared to Barn Swallow. It will feed with other swallow species.
zoglandboy wrote on Nov 10, '11
These fascinating swallows recalls me of Frigatebirds when I first saw them flying around my high school during weekly assembly, if split, this Rufous-bellied (badia) would be a regional endemic to the Malay Peninsular, definitely going to be one of the most regular species of regional endemic here I guess since it was capable to enter urban settings near limestone cliffs. You can see a lot on Fraser's nowadays also.
Photo taken at Kuala Kedah coastal side. There is a swiftlet farm in the middle of the padi field inland side........The Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica) is a small passerine bird in the swallow family. It breeds in open hilly country of temperate southern Europe and Asia from Portugal and Spain to Japan, India and tropical Africa. The Indian and African birds are resident, but European and other Asian birds are migratory. They winter in Africa or India and are vagrants to Christmas Island and northern Australia. So in Peninsula Malaysia they are passage migrant or visitor.
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.
Red-rumped Swallows build quarter-sphere nests with a tunnel entrance lined with mud collected in their beaks, and lay 3-6 eggs. They normally nest under cliff overhangs in their mountain homes, but will readily adapt to buildings such as mosques and bridges.
They do not normally form large breeding colonies, but are gregarious outside the breeding season. Many hundreds can be seen at a time on the plains of India.
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