Lesser Striped Swallow ( Hirundo abyssinica, family: hirundinidae)

lesser strip swallow kruger national park birds The Lesser Striped Swallow (Latin name Hirundo abyssinica) is described in Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique Roberts number of 527 and you will find a full description of this bird on page 756 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. The basic information was provided by the Avian Demographic Unit based at UCT and I created the maps from that information ... the green dots show the locations of the various Kruger National Park Rest Camps

The Lesser Striped Swallow is neither Endemic or near Endemic to the Kruger National Park. It is however a common summer visitor

In terms of distribution of the Lesser Striped Swallow in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. Lesser Striped Swallow : see above distribution map.

The Lesser Striped Swallow.

Identification assistance for this avian species ...

One of the first indicators to take note of when trying to identify a bird is it relative size. For example how big is the bird compared to a well known familiar bird. The Lesser Striped Swallow is a small bird about the size of a house sparrow. Do not take this relative indicator as anything other than a rough easy to remember indicator. It is not a accurate visualization. The height of the Lesser Striped Swallow is about 15 cms and its weight is about 19 gms

The male and female Lesser Striped Swallow have the same plumage and colours

  • Head is brown.
  • Eye is brown.
  • Bill is black.
  • Throat is white.
  • Back is brown, grey.
  • Legs are black.

This bird has normally proportioned leg length.

Main diet items for this bird ...

The Lesser Striped Swallow feeds on wing mainly

Invertebrates

Seeds

Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...

The Lesser Striped Swallow is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Hirundo abyssinica will seek out a new mate

The nesting habit of Lesser Striped Swallow is to create the nest in branches of a tree or shrub. The bird lays eggs which are cream in colour and number between 3 to 5

Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...

The preferred habitats for Lesser Striped Swallow are: woodlands and grasslands

You will not see Lesser Striped Swallow in flocks. The bird prefers to act singly or in pairs.

Names of this avian species in other languages ...

Xhosa ... Inkonjane

Zulu ... iNkonjane

Afrikaans ...Kleinstreepswael

German ... Kleine Streifenschwalbe

Portuguese ... Andorinha-estriada-pequena

French ... Hirondelle strie

Dutch ... Savanne-Zwaluw

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For in-depth birding information please refer to these authoritative avian references ...

Robert's 7th edition number ... 527

The main reference source for this data was "Roberts - Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition" . Other references were "Newmans Birds of the Kruger Park" by Keith Newman published circa 1980 . Names in foreign languages were obtained from the Percy Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town website , www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za