Grey-rumped Swallow ( Pseudhirundo griseopyga, family: Hirundinidae)

grey rumped swallow kruger national park birds The Grey-rumped Swallow (Latin name Pseudhirundo griseopyga) is described in Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique Roberts number of 531 and you will find a full description of this bird on page 747 also a picture of the Grey-rumped Swallow on page 801. The Grey-rumped Swallow belongs to the family of birds classified as Hirundinidae.

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 Grey-rumped 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 Grey-rumped Swallow in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. Grey-rumped Swallow : see above distribution map.

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 Grey-rumped 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 Grey-rumped Swallow is about 14 cms and its weight is about 9 gms

The male and female Grey-rumped Swallow have the same plumage and colours

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

This bird has normally proportioned leg length.

Main diet items for this bird ...

The Grey-rumped Swallow feeds on the ground, and on the wing mainly

Invertebrates

Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...

The Grey-rumped Swallow is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Pseudhirundo griseopyga will seek out a new mate

The nesting habit of Grey-rumped Swallow is to create the nest in a hole in the ground. The bird lays eggs which are white in colour and number between 2 to 5

Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...

The preferred habitats for Grey-rumped Swallow are: woodlands and grasslands

You will normally see the Grey-rumped Swallow in pairs or flocks and not as single birds.

Names of this avian species in other languages ...

Xhosa ... Unknown

Zulu ... Unknown

Afrikaans ...Gryskruisswael

German ... Graubrzelschwalbe

Portuguese ... Andorinha-de-rabadilha-cinzenta

French ... Hirondelle croupion gris

Dutch ... Grijsstuitzwaluw

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

Robert's 7th edition number ... 531

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