Southern Rough-winged Swallow

Taxobox
name = Southern Rough-winged Swallow

---

status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1
status_ref=IUCN2006|assessors=BirdLife International|year=2004|id=52151|title=Stelgidopteryx ruficollis|downloaded=09 May 2006 Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern]
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Aves
ordo = Passeriformes
familia = Hirundinidae
genus = "Stelgidopteryx"
species = "S. ruficollis"
binomial = "Stelgidopteryx ruficollis"
binomial_authority = (Vieillot, 1817, Brazil)

The Southern Rough-winged Swallow , "Stelgidopteryx ruficollis", is a small swallow. It was first formally described as "Hirundo ruficollis" by French ornithologist Louis Vieillot in 1817 in his "Nouvelle Dictionnaire d'Histoire Naturelle".fr icon Vieillot, Louis Jean Pierre (1817): "Nouvelle Dictionnaire d'Histoire Naturelle" nouvelle édition, 14, 523.]

It occurs in Central and South America from Honduras south to northern Argentina and Uruguay. It also occurs on Trinidad. Southern birds of the nominate race "S. r. ruficollis", are migratory, moving north in winter, but the northern "S. r. aequalis" is sedentary.cite book |title=Swallows and Martins of the World : an identification guide and handbook |last=Turner |first=Angela K |coauthors= Rose, Chris |publisher=Houghton Mifflin |year=1989 |pages = 91-93|id=ISBN 0-395-51174-7 ]

The adult is 13.5 cm in length and weighs 15 g. It is brown above, with blackish wings and tail and a pale grey rump. The throat and upper breast are rufous with the lower underparts yellowish-white. The tail is slightly forked. It is similar in appearance to its northern counterpart, the Northern Rough-winged Swallow but is more uniform in colour, particularly on the rump.

It is found in open areas and forest clearings. It nests in grass-lined cavities of various types, including holes in banks or walls, or disused kingfisher and jacamar nests. It does not form colonies. The clutch is 3-6 white eggs, incubated by the female for 16-18 days and with another 13 days to fledging.

Southern Rough-winged Swallow forages for insects in flight, usually flying low with a slow deliberate flight. The call is an unmusical "chirrup".

"Rough-winged" refers to the serrated edge of the outer primary feathers on the wing of this bird; this feature would only be apparent when holding this bird.

External links

* [http://ibc.hbw.com/ibc/phtml/especie.phtml?idEspecie=5340 Southern Rough-winged Swallow videos] on the Internet Bird Collection
* [http://vireo.acnatsci.org/search.html?Form=Search&SEARCHBY=Common&KEYWORDS=southern+rough-winged+swallow&showwhat=images&AGE=All&SEX=All&ACT=All&Search=Search&VIEW=All&ORIENTATION=All&RESULTS=24 Southern Rough-winged Swallow photo gallery] VIREO [http://vireo.acnatsci.org/species_image.php?species=Stelgidopteryx+ruficollis Photo-High Res]

References

* "Birds of Venezuela" by Hilty, ISBN 0-7136-6418-5
*cite book
last = ffrench
first = Richard
title = A Guide to the Birds of Trinidad and Tobago
edition = 2nd edition
year = 1991
publisher = Comstock Publishing
isbn = 0-8014-9792-2