Wire tailed swallow

Introduction: Wire-tailed swallows (Hirundo smithii) were named after Lt-Col Smith Charles Hamilton (1776-1859) after an expedition to Chisalla Island in the Lower Congo River. Their presence is always associated with water bodies including large rivers, floodplains, steams, canals and dams. Mopane woodlands, thornveld and forest edges are also favoured.

Distribution: Restricted to the northern Kunene, Kavango, Kwando, Zambezi and Chobe Rivers. Also observed regularly in the Okavango Delta.

Diet: Forages in small groups for ants, beetles, bugs, butterflies, flies and moths.

Description: Forehead and crown bright reddish chestnut colour, remainder of upper parts and upper wing coverts glossy blue, with purple sheen. Tail glossy black, underparts white.

Breeding: Both male and female build a small, flat open cup of mud pellets and lined with grasses and feathers. Usually 2 or 3 eggs are laid year-round and incubated for up to 19 days.

Size: 14cm.

Weight: 13g.