| Red-chested swallow | |
|---|---|
| | |
| Male in Makasutu, The Gambia | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Hirundinidae |
| Genus: | Hirundo |
| Species: | H. lucida |
| Binomial name | |
| Hirundo lucida Hartlaub, 1858 | |
| | |
The red-chested swallow (Hirundo lucida) is a small non-migratory passerine bird found in West Africa, the Congo Basin and Ethiopia. It has a long, deeply forked tail and curved, pointed wings. [2]
It was formerly considered a subspecies of the closely resembling barn swallow. However, the adult red-chested swallow differs in being slightly smaller than its migratory relative, in addition to having a narrower blue breast band and shorter tail streamers. Juveniles are more comparable to barn swallow chicks. [3]