Mangrove swallow

Mangrove swallow

The mangrove swallow is a passerine bird in the swallow family that breeds in coastal regions from Mexico through Central America to Panama. It has blue-green upperparts, blackish flight feathers, a white rump, a black tail, and white underparts. It is classified as a species of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

About Mangrove swallow in brief

Summary Mangrove swallowThe mangrove swallow is a passerine bird in the swallow family that breeds in coastal regions from Mexico through Central America to Panama. It has blue-green upperparts, blackish flight feathers, a white rump, a black tail, and white underparts. It can be identified by the supraloral white streak, the white line near its eye, which only occurs in two other species of Tachycineta: the violet-green swallow and the white-rumped swallow. The sexes, although similar in plumage, differ slightly in size. This swallow’s song is generally described as a soft trilling, with a rolled jeerrt call, and a sharp alarm note. Its nest is normally built in a hole or crevice near water and less than 2 metres above the ground. The Tumbes swallow of coastal Peru was formerly considered to be a subspecies of the manGrove swallow, but its calls, behaviour, and cytochrome b data indicate that it should be considered as a separate species. It is a host of Sternostoma hirundinis, a type of nasal mite.

With an estimated population of at least 500,000 individuals, it is classified as a species of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Its numbers are decreasing, although not fast enough for it to be classified as vulnerable. The adult’s tail is only slightly forked, and the juvenile is dull-brown above and grey-brown below the upper wings. The feathers are greener when fresh and sometimes have faint, dark shaft streaks. The male has a slightly longer tail and slightly shorter wings above and below, while the female has a duller tail and shorter wings below. Compared to the male, the female is slightly shorter and slightly darker in colour, although they differ slightly in size, although the sexes are similar. All nine species have glossy blue or green backs andwhite underparts, but the five species with white rumps are particularly closely related, the first three and the last two forming two superspecies.