Lesser Striped Swallow

This is a bird of wooded, mainly lowland habitats, and is replaced in montane grassland by the Greater Striped Swallow, Hirundo cucullata. It is often found around human habitation. The Lesser Striped Swallow builds a bowl-shaped mud nest with a tubular entrance on the underside of a suitable structure. The nest has a soft lining, and may be reused in later years. The nest may be built in a cave or under a rock overhang or a tree branch. This species has benefited from its willingness to use buildings, bridges, culverts and similar structures. Given the choice, it will select a high nest site.

The Lesser Striped Swallow is classified as Least Concern. Does not qualify for a more at risk category. Widespread and abundant taxa are included in this category.

Lesser Striped Swallow has heavier and darker underparts striping, a deeper red rump, and a brighter head colour than the larger Greater Striped Swallow. Lesser also prefers less open habitats. Lesser Striped Swallow is common, and has benefited from the availability of nest sites around habitation. It feeds mainly on flying insects, but has been known to eat small fruits. The flight is erratic, and the call is a nasal zeh zeh zeh zeh zeh. More

The Lesser Striped Swallow is a Southern African bird that belongs to the hirundinidae bird family group which includes birds such as Hirundinidae. The description for the Lesser Striped Swallow (Latin name Hirundo abyssinica) can be found in the 7th Edition of the Roberts Birds of Southern Africa. The Hirundo abyssinica can be quickly identified by its unique Roberts identification number of 527 and the detailed description of this bird is on page 756. More

The Lesser Striped Swallow is a common summer migrant to the warmer areas of the region. It is usually seen in pairs or small groups, and is most often seen close to the nest sites on a house or culvert, or some other man-made structure. The Lesser Striped Swallow eats mainly aerial insects, but also some seeds. The call is a loud squeaky nasal song of 9-10 notes, chip chip chwip, kreek, kreek, kreek, chwip. More

also a picture of the Lesser Striped Swallow on page 816. The Lesser Striped Swallow belongs to the family of birds classified as hirundinidae. According to the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology the Lesser Striped Swallow is also known by these other names: Striped Swallow. The map of the Kruger you see on this page shows the areas (coloured orange) where this bird has been identified. More

Alternate common name(s): Lesser Striped Swallow, Striped Swallow Old scientific name(s): Hirundo abyssinica Photographs Botswana - Aug, 1999 More

For the purposes of our bird news services, Lesser Striped Swallow is classed as ungraded: species which are unlikely to appear as wild birds in Britain or Ireland (Note that rarity levels are currently applied nationally and may not reflect local variations in abundance.) hide section Most recent photos of Lesser Striped Swallow (4) Kruger, Mopani, South Africa Kruger, Mopani, South Africa30/08/2009 Kruger, Mopani, South Africa 30/08/2009 Amboseli N.P., Central, Kenya Amboseli N.P., Central, Kenya22/01/2007 Amboseli N.P. More

Lesser Striped Swallow (Cecropis abyssinica) = French: Hirondelle striée German: Maidschwalbe Spanish: Golondrina Abisinia Other common names: Striped Swallow Taxonomy: Hirundo abyssinica Guérin-Méneville, 1843, Ethiopia. Genus often merged with Hirundo, but DNA studies support retention of separate taxa. Often considered to form a superspecies with C. cucullata, although ranges overlap widely in S Africa. More

Stamps showing Lesser Striped Swallow Cecropis abyssinica Lesser Striped Swallow Cecropis abyssinica Lesser Striped Swallow Cecropis abyssinica Lesser Striped Swallow Cecropis abyssinica Lesser Striped Swallow Cecropis abyssinica Lesser Striped Swallow Cecropis abyssinica Distribution map for Lesser Striped Swallow, range 181.026 Lesser Striped Swallow IOC v2.4: 7043 Links will open countrypage in new window - Ethiopia 29.09. More