The swallows, martins, and saw-wings, or Hirundinidae are a family of passerine songbirds found around the world on all continents, including occasionally in Antarctica. Highly adapted to aerial feeding, they have a distinctive appearance. The term "swallow" is used colloquially in Europe as a synonym for the barn swallow. Around 90 species of Hirundinidae are known, divided into 19 genera, with the greatest diversity found in Africa, which is also thought to be where they evolved as hole-nesters. They also occur on a number of oceanic islands. A number of European and North American species are long-distance migrants; by contrast, the West and South African swallows are nonmigratory.
The golden grosbeak, also known as golden-bellied grosbeak or southern yellow grosbeak, is a species of grosbeak in the family Cardinalidae. It is similar to, and has sometimes been considered conspecific with, the yellow grosbeak.
The New Guinea thornbill or Papuan thornbill is a species of bird in the family Acanthizidae. It is found in the New Guinea Highlands.
The tawny-headed swallow is a species of bird in the family Hirundinidae. It is monotypic within the genus Alopochelidon. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Falkland Islands, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela, where its natural habitats are dry savanna and subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland.
The white-backed swallow is a member of the family Hirundinidae and is endemic to Australia. It is monotypic within the genus Cheramoeca. As with all swallows within the family Hirundinidae, it is characterised by adaptation to aerial feeding. The white-backed swallow can be identified by its white back, surrounded by black wings and tail. The white-backed swallow has a wide distribution, from the southern part of the Australian continent, up to the Tropic of Capricorn. The white-backed swallow prefers grasslands and will create a burrow nest.
The scarlet-and-white tanager is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae. It is found in Colombia and northern Ecuador. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and heavily degraded former forest. The male is highly distinctive and has bright scarlet upperparts, darker red wings and undertail coverts, and white underparts with a scarlet median stripe running down the throat and belly. Females are patterned like the males, but are olive-brown instead of scarlet.
The orange-bellied flowerpecker is a species of bird in the family Dicaeidae. It is found in Bangladesh, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.
The Andean swallow is a species of bird in the family Hirundinidae. It was formerly placed in the monotypic genus Haplochelidon. It is found in the Altiplano of Peru, Bolivia and far northern Chile and Argentina. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical high-elevation shrubland and subtropical or tropical high-elevation grassland.
The cliff flycatcher is a species of bird in the tyrant flycatcher family, Tyrannidae. The cliff flycatcher is the only species in the genus Hirundinea after the swallow flycatcher was merged, becoming subspecies Hirundinea ferruginea bellicosa. It is native to South America, where its natural habitats are cliffs and crags in the vicinity of subtropical or tropical dry forest, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical or tropical moist montane forest, and heavily degraded former forest.
The white-tailed swallow is a small swallow belonging to the family Hirundinidae and is endemic to Oromia, Ethiopia. It is commonly referred to as "Benson's swallow" after the ornithologist Constatine Walter Benson, who named the species. This small bird is classified as a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), as there is a progressive declination of the species which now consists of less than 10,000 adult individuals worldwide. It has a surprisingly small range for a swallow, as it is wholly dependent on a cooler "bubble" surrounding its small range, likely for proper breeding success. It is one of the most threatened bird species by climate change and a massive range reduction is projected in the future.
The white-thighed swallow is a species of bird in the family Hirundinidae. It was formerly placed in the monotypic genus, Neochelidon.
The pale-footed swallow is a species of bird in the family Hirundinidae. It is found in the northern Andes, from Venezuela to Bolivia. It is monotypic.
The black-capped swallow is a species of bird in the family Hirundinidae. It is found in Chiapas, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forests and heavily degraded former forest.
The white-bellied pitohui is a species of bird in the family Pachycephalidae. It is found throughout the lowlands of southern New Guinea (Lorentz River to upper Fly River.
The rusty-cheeked scimitar babbler is a species of bird in the family Timaliidae native to South-East Asia.
The southern martin is a species of bird in the family Hirundinidae.
The Peruvian martin is a species of bird in the family Hirundinidae. It is found in Peru and far northern Chile.
The brown-chested martin is a species of passerine bird in the swallow family.
The Fernando Po speirops, also known as the Bioko speirops, is a species of bird in the family Zosteropidae. It is endemic to Bioko Island in Equatorial Guinea.
Orochelidon is a genus of birds in the swallow family Hirundinidae. These species are resident in the Andes Mountains of South America.
