Asian House Martin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Asian House Martin | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservation status | ||||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
| Binomial name | ||||||||||||||
| Delichon dasypus (Bonaparte, 1850) |
The Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus) is a migratory passerine bird of the swallow family Hirundinidae.
It has three subspecies:
- D. d. dasypus in the southeast of Russia, the Kuril Islands and Japan
- D. d. cashmiriensis in the Himalayas
- D. d. nigrimentalis in southeastern China
Nominate dasypus winters in Southeast Asia, although a few remain around hot springs in Japan, but cashmiriensis only moves to lower levels in the mountains. The wintering range of nigrimentalis is unknown.
[edit] Description
The adult Asian House Martin is 12 cm long, dark steel blue above with a white rump, and with white underparts. It differs from House Martin in that it has a grey throat and grey-brown, not white, underwings. Nepal House Martin has a black throat, black undertail coverts, white underwings and a squarer tail. Juveniles are duller with grey underparts.
This species’ call is a sibilant twitter, and the male's song is a fast za-za-za.
[edit] Behaviour
The Asian House Martin is a cliff nester, breeding in colonies sited under an overhang on a vertical cliff. It frequently nests on large buildings such as temples and bridges. The nest is a deep mud cone lined with grasses or feathers. Three or four white eggs are the normal clutch, and this species is often double-brooded. Both sexes build the nest, incubate the eggs and feed the chicks.
This martin feeds on insects taken in flight.
[edit] References
- Turner, Angela K; Rose, Chris (1989). A handbook to the swallows and martins of the world. Christopher Helm. ISBN 0-7470-3202-5.
