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25

Wire-tailed Swallow (Hirundo smithii) Alternate name(s): Race "smithii": "African Wire-tailed Swallow"; race "filifera": "Asian Wire-tailed Swallow" Size: 14-16 cm (incl. tail streamers)

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Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Wire-tailed Swallows are small member of the swallow family. Their most prominent feature are long, filamentary streamers on the outside of the tail, which acocunt for a significant fraction of their total length. The frons and crown are rust-red; the lores and ear coverts are brown. The front from chin to undertail coverts is white, while the back and wings are glossy blue-black. The irises are dark. The short, straight bill is grey; the legs and feet are also grey.

Taxonomy, classification See Wire-tailed Swallow at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Wire-tailed Swallow is available HERE . There are two races of Wire-tailed Swallows. Nominate race "smithii" populates parts of the African continent to the South of the Sahara desert, with the exceptions of the Congo basin and of South Africa, and race "filifera" is found in southern and south-eastern Asia, with reports from southern Iran in the West to Vietnam in the East. Wire-tailed Swallows, nominate race "smithii", are vagrants or occasional visitors in Oman.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "smithii" We have not seen Wire-tailed Swallows in Oman yet. The photos presented here were taken in Africa. All photographic information presented on this page has kindly been contributed by S. Kirkby.

Photos

Race "smithii"

ADULT

Sex unknown

Frontal view of a Wire-tailed Swallow (photo courtesy of S. Kirkby)

Lateral view of a Wire-tailed Swallow (photo courtesy of S. Kirkby)

Lateral view of a Wire-tailed Swallow (photo courtesy of S. Kirkby)

Food, Diet

Like all other swallows known to us, Wire-tailed Swallows are insect hunters. They feed in-flight on small insects. This species is known to hunt mostly above water.

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

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Disclaimer: Comments are always welcome. We give no guarantee that the information presented on these pages is always correct or up-to-date. External links are marked as such and we take no responsibility for the contents of external pages. All images on this site are protected by copyright & used by permission of the respective owners. If you wish to reproduce them or any of the material presented on this web site, please contact us: We hereby acknowledge the original custodians of the land which is described on these pages, including the Gomeroi/Gamilaraay people of the North-west Slopes and Plains of NSW, and the traditional owners of other lands and nations within this country. We acknowledge elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.          Last updated: Tue, 30 May 2023, 11:03 +00:00