Wire-tailed swallow

Description:

Almost adult swallows feeded by parents. They head were not yet brown and the tails were not yet fully developed on the young, but they could fly. This species gets its name from the very long filamentous outermost tail feathers, which trail behind like two wires. Sexes manifest similar appearances, but the female has shorter "wires". Juveniles have a brown crown, back and tail.

Habitat:

Village, outside a house (Caia, central Mozambique, start of rain season)

Notes:

Wire-tailed Swallow breeds in Africa south of the Sahara and in tropical southern Asia from the Indian subcontinent east to southeast Asia. It is mainly resident, but populations in Pakistan and northern India migrate further south in winter. These birds are solitary and territorial nesters, unlike many swallows, which tend to be colonial.