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Chilean Swallow
Tachycineta leucopyga

DESCRIPTION:
Chilean Swallow
Golondrina Patagónica
Tachycineta leucopyga
Length: 135mm. Sexes alike. Bill black, iris dark brown; upper part of head, hind neck, upper and lower back black with deep blue sheen; rump white; uppertail coverts black with soft bluish gloss; rectrices black slightly forked, almost straight. Lores, orbital region and auriculars black; throat, foreneck, breast, belly and undertail coverts white; bluish black incomplete collar on either side of upper breast; flanks whitish grey. Wing coverts as back; remiges black; underwing coverts and axillaries grey.
Legs black. Average weight: 20g. The immature are similar to adults but slightly paler. Habitat and behaviour: it frequents all types of terrain, catching insects in flight; it is very common and it approaches human settlements, where it nests under the eaves or in crevices; also in holes in tree trunks; nests are built with horsehair and feathers; females lay up to five white eggs. The Chilean Swallow forages in flocks mixed with other species, especially the Blue-and-White Swallow (Notiochelidon cyanoleuca). It is distinguishable from the latter by the white rump, less forked tail, the white undertail coverts and the habit of perching in trees. Range: commonly distributed throughout Patagonia, ranging from Neuquén and Río Negro to southern Tierra del Fuego; migrating northwards in winter to Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay.
Illustrated Handbook of the Birds of Patagonia
Kindless: Kovacs Family
 
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Photographs: Mariano Diez Peña


Birding Patagonia • Birdwatcing in Bariloche, Patagonia, Argentina and Chile.
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Photographs on the website: Mariano Diez Peña