Greater Striped Swallow Cecropis/Hirundo cucullata
Suikerbosrand, South Africa. May 2008

The Greater Striped Swallow Cecropis/Hirundo cucullata is a large swallow breeding in South Africa, Namibia and southern Zimbabwe. It is migratory wintering further north in Angola, Tanzania and southern Zaire. A bird of dry open country (such as the highveld grassland at Suikerbosrand where these photos were taken), Greater Striped Swallows are often found around human habitation where they nest and will tolerate a reasonably close approach.

The Greater Striped Swallow is 18-20 cm long with dark blue blue upperparts, a pale orange rump and a chestnut crown, nape and sides of the head. The underparts and underwing coverts are creamy white with dark streaking, and the upper wings and underwing flight feathers are blackish-brown. Its flight is notably slow and buoyant, disinctly slower with more gliding than its close congener the Lesser Striped Swallow Hirundo abyssinica which charges around in typical swallow fashion, and also has heavier and darker underparts striping, a deeper red rump, and a brighter head colour which extends down onto the ear coverts - as can seen here Greaters have lightly streaked, pale buffy ear coverts.