Hirundo

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Hirundo
Hirundo rustica -Saxony, Germany-8.jpg
A barn swallow collecting nest material in Germany
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Hirundinidae
Subfamily: Hirundininae
Genus: Hirundo
Linnaeus, 1758
Type species
Hirundo rustica (barn swallow)
Linnaeus, 1758
Species

See text

The bird genus Hirundo is a group of passerines in the family Hirundinidae (swallows and martins). The genus name is Latin for a swallow. [1] These are the typical swallows, including the widespread barn swallow. Many of this group have blue backs, red on the face and sometimes the rump or nape, and whitish or rufous underparts. With fifteen species this genus is the largest in its family.

Contents

Taxonomy

The genus Hirundo was introduced in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae . [2] The genus name is the Latin word for a swallow. [3] Linnaeus included eight species in the genus and of these William Swainson designated the barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) as the type species. [4] [5]

Extant species

The genus contains sixteen species. The linear sequence is based on two molecular phylogenetic studies published in 2005 and 2018. [6] [7] [8]

ImageCommon nameScientific nameDistribution
Hirundo nigrorufa, Munhango, Birding Weto, a.jpg Black-and-rufous swallow Hirundo nigrorufaAngola, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia.
Blue Swallow - Hirundo atrocaerulea.jpg Blue swallow Hirundo atrocaeruleafrom South Africa to Tanzania
Pied-winged swallow (Hirundo leucosoma).jpg Pied-winged swallow Hirundo leucosomaBenin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.
Hirundo megaensis Mega.jpg White-tailed swallow Hirundo megaensisOromia, Ethiopia.
Pearl-breasted Swallow by CraigAdam (cropped).jpg Pearl-breasted swallow Hirundo dimidiatasouthern Africa from Angola, southern Congo and Tanzania southwards.
Layang-layang batu.jpg Pacific swallow Hirundo javanicasouthern Asia and the islands of the south Pacific.
Tahiti swallow Hirundo tahiticaislands of Moorea and Tahiti in French Polynesia
Hill Swallow (Hirundo domicola) by Dharani Prakash.jpg Hill swallow Hirundo domicolasouthern India and Sri Lanka.
Hirundo neoxena risdon.jpg Welcome swallow Hirundo neoxenaAustralia and nearby islands
White-throated Swallows (Hirundo albigularis) (6817418149) (cropped).jpg White-throated swallow Hirundo albigularissouthern Africa from Angola and Zambia southwards to the Cape in South Africa.
Wire tailed swallow 18 kmpivaal[?] ktrik (Hirundo smithii ).jpg Wire-tailed swallow Hirundo smithiisouthern Africa and southeastern Asia.
White-throated Blue-Swallow S4E1838 (16953709336) (cropped).jpg White-bibbed swallow Hirundo nigritaAngola, Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Uganda.
Barn Swallow perched in wire.jpg Barn swallow Hirundo rusticaNorth and South America, most of Africa aside from the Sahara Desert, most of Eurasia aside from the northern Siberia, and northern Australia.
Angola swallow.jpg Angola swallow Hirundo angolensisAngola, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.
Flickr - Rainbirder - Red-chested Swallow (Hirundo lucida).jpg Red-chested swallow Hirundo lucidaWest Africa, the Congo Basin and Ethiopia.
Ethiopian Swallow - Ghana S4E2764 (16978329422).jpg Ethiopian swallow Hirundo aethiopicaBenin to Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Israel, Kenya, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda

Extinct species

There are at least two fossil species included in this genus:

Former species

Some authorities, either presently or formerly, recognize several additional species as belonging to the genus Hirundo including:

Distribution and habitat

All of the species are found in the Old World, although one, the barn swallow, is cosmopolitan, also occurring in the Americas.

References

  1. Jobling, James A (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 193. ISBN   978-1408125014.
  2. Linnaeus, Carl (1758). Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis (in Latin). Vol. 1 (10th ed.). Holmiae (Stockholm): Laurentii Salvii. p. 191.
  3. Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 193. ISBN   978-1-4081-2501-4.
  4. Swainson, William (1837). On the Natural History and Classification of Birds. Vol. 2. London: John Taylor. p. 340.
  5. Dickinson, E.C.; Christidis, L., eds. (2014). The Howard & Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World. Vol. 2: Passerines (4th ed.). Eastbourne, UK: Aves Press. p. 479. ISBN   978-0-9568611-2-2.
  6. Sheldon, Frederick H.; Whittingham, Linda A.; Moyle, Robert G.; Slikas, Beth; Winkler, David W. (April 2005). "Phylogeny of swallows (Aves: Hirundinidae) estimated from nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequences". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 35 (1): 254–270. Bibcode:2005MolPE..35..254S. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2004.11.008. ISSN   1055-7903. PMID   15737595.
  7. Silva, Thilina N. de; Fernando, Sumudu W.; Robbins, Mark B.; Cooper, Jacob C.; Fokam, Eric B.; Peterson, A. Townsend (2018). "Recognition of a new generic-level swallow taxon from central Africa" . Journal of Avian Biology. 49 (9): e01698. doi:10.1111/jav.01698. ISSN   1600-048X. S2CID   90611033.
  8. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (August 2024). "Swallows". IOC World Bird List Version 14.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
  9. 1 2 Kessler, E. (2013). Neogene songbirds (Aves, Passeriformes) from Hungary. Hantkeniana Budapest 8: 37-149.
  10. "Cecropis domicella - Avibase". avibase.bsc-eoc.org. Retrieved 2017-05-05.