Derivation
Hi-run'-do - L., hirundo, a swallow: daurica - from Dauria, a region of south-eastern Siberia east of Lake Baikal bordering Mongolia and Manchuria
Habits
Usually singly or in small groups, but often in large groups. Often in association with other aerial birds such as martins, swallows and swifts.
Food
Flying insects.
Voice
A nasal 'tweit', uttered inflight. Warbling twitters.
Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica) [XC423901]
by Stanislas Wroza from Parque Nacional de Monfrag\u00fce (near Torrej\u00f3n el Rubio), C\u00e1ceres, Extremadura, Spain (call, flight call)
Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica) [XC417707]
by Stanislas Wroza from Sierra de C\u00e1diz (near Grazalema), C\u00e1diz, Andaluc\u00eda, Spain (flight call)
Breeding Season (Guide)
Does not breed in Australia. Breeds in Eurasia.
J
F
M
A
M
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J
A
S
O
N
D
Nest
Cup-shaped, composed of mud pellets, with an extended entrance, built under the eaves of buildings or similar situation.
Eggs (Guide)
4 - 5; smooth, glossy, white with some delicate red-brown speckling; long-oval.
Subspecies
Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica) and West African Swallow (Hirundo domicella) (Sibley and Monroe 1990, 1993) have been lumped into Hirundo daurica following Dowsett and Forbes-Watson (1993).
Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica) (Dowsett and Forbes-Watson 1993), Striated Swallow (Hirundo striolata) (Sibley and Monroe 1990, 1993) and Rufous-bellied Swallow (Hirundo badia) (given specific status by Turner 2004) have been lumped into Hirundo daurica because examination of morphological differences suggests size and boldness of streaking are clinal characters and evidence for sympatric breeding and reported vocal differences is inadequate.
Proposed subspecies disjuncta (from Birwa Plateau, in Sierra Leone) and gephyra (western Inner Mongolia south to eastern Tibet and Sichuan) are probably indistinguishable from, respectively, kumboensis and nominate.
The following 10 subspecies are recognised:
rufula (Temminck, 1835) - South-western and southern Europe (Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean countries) and northern Africa east to southern Asia Minor, Levant (south to Israel), north-eastern Saudi Arabia, western and southern Iran, Pakistan, north-western India and Tien Shan. Winters Africa and south-western Asia.
daurica Linnaeus, 1771 - North-eastern Kazakhstan east to south-eastern Russia (western Amurland) and northern Inner Mongolia, south to south-central China (south to northern Yunnan). Winters southern and south-eastern Asia.
japonica (Temminck & Schlegel, 1845) - Eastern Amurland, North-eastern, eastern and southern China, Korea and Japan. Winters south-eastern Asia south to northern Australia.
nipalensis (Hodgson, 1837) - Himalayas east to south-eastern Xizang (Tibet) and northern Myanmar. Winters India.
erythropygia (Sykes, 1832) - India from Punjab east to West Bengal, and S. Winters southern India and Sri Lanka.
hyperythra (Blyth, 1849) - Sri Lanka. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Sri Lanka Swallow (Cecropis hyperythra).
domicella (Hartlaub and Finsch, 1870) - Africa from Senegambia and Guinea east to Sudan and south-western Ethiopia. Sometimes considered a distinct species, West African Swallow (Hirundo domicella). Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, West African Swallow (Hirundo domicella).
kumboensis (Bannerman, 1923) - Sierra Leone (Birwa Plateau) and western Cameroon (Bamenda Highlands).
melanocrissus Rüppell, 1845 - Highlands of Ethiopia and Eritrea.
emini (Reichenow, 1892) - South-eastern Sudan, Uganda and central Kenya south to northern Zambia and Malawi.
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9
BirdLife International Species Factsheet