Red-breasted Swallow ( Hirundo semirufa, family: Hirundinidae)
The Red-breasted Swallow (Latin name Hirundo semirufa) is described in
Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique
Roberts number of 524 and you will find a full description of this bird
on page 757 also a picture of the Red-breasted Swallow on page 816. The
Red-breasted Swallow belongs to the family of birds classified as
Hirundinidae. According to the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African
Ornithology the Red-breasted Swallow is also known by these other names:
Rufous-chested 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 Red-breasted Swallow is neither Endemic or near Endemic to the Kruger National Park. It is however a rare summer resident
In terms of distribution of the Red-breasted Swallow in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. Red-breasted Swallow : see above distribution map.
Identification assistance for this avian species ...
The Red-breasted Swallow is a bird about the same size as a starling. The height of the Red-breasted Swallow is about 24 cms and its weight is about 31 gms
You will find that the male Red-breasted Swallow plumage and colours are different to that of the female Red-breasted Swallow
- Head is blue, black.
- Eye is brown.
- Bill is black.
- Throat is grey.
- Back is blue, black.
- Legs are black.
This bird has normally proportioned leg length.
Main diet items for this bird ...
The Red-breasted Swallow feeds on the ground mainly
Invertebrates
Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...
The Red-breasted Swallow is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Hirundo semirufa will seek out a new mate
The nesting habit of Red-breasted Swallow is to create the nest in branches of a tree or shrub. The bird lays eggs which are white in colour and number between 1 to 6
Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...
The preferred habitats for Red-breasted Swallow are: grasslands
You will not see Red-breasted Swallow in flocks. The bird prefers to act singly or in pairs.
Names of this avian species in other languages ...
Xhosa ... Unknown
Zulu ... Unknown
Afrikaans ...Rooiborsswael
German ... Rotbauchschwalbe
Portuguese ... Andorinha-de-peito-ruivo
French ... Hirondelle ventre roux
Dutch ... Roodborstzwaluw
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For in-depth birding information please refer to these authoritative avian references ...
Robert's 7th edition number ... 524
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
