Rock Martin ( Hirundo fuligula, family: Hirundinidae)

rock martin kruger national park birds The Rock Martin (Latin name Hirundo fuligula) is described in Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique Roberts number of 529 and you will find a full description of this bird on page 761 also a picture of the Rock Martin on page 801. The Rock Martin belongs to the family of birds classified as Hirundinidae. According to the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology the Rock Martin is also known by these other names: African Rock Martin, Pale Crag Martin.

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 Rock Martin is neither Endemic or near Endemic to the Kruger National Park. It is however a common resident

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

The Rock Martin.

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 Rock Martin 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 Rock Martin is about 13 cms and its weight is about 22 gms

The male and female Rock Martin have the same plumage and colours

  • Head is brown.
  • Eye is brown.
  • Bill is black.
  • Throat is cinnamon.
  • Back is brown.
  • Legs are pink.

This bird has normally proportioned leg length.

Main diet items for this bird ...

The Rock Martin feeds on the ground, and on the wing mainly

Invertebrates

Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...

The Rock Martin is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Hirundo fuligula will seek out a new mate

The nesting habit of Rock Martin is to create the nest in branches of a tree or shrub. The bird lays eggs which are white in colour and number between 2 to 3

Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...

The preferred habitats for Rock Martin are: mountainous regions

You will normally see the Rock Martin in flocks.

Names of this avian species in other languages ...

Xhosa ... Inkonjane/Unongubendala/Unongubende

Zulu ... iNhlolamvula

Afrikaans ...Kransswael

German ... Felsenschwalbe, Steinschwalbe

Portuguese ... Andorinha-das-rochas-africana

French ... Hirondelle isabelline

Dutch ... Kaapse Rotszwaluw

First bird in list | Previous bird viewed | Next KNP bird | Last bird in list

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

Robert's 7th edition number ... 529

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