Northern rough-winged swallow
| Northern rough-winged swallow | |
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| Adult | |
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| Juvenile | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Hirundinidae |
| Genus: | Stelgidopteryx |
| Species: | S. serripennis |
| Binomial name | |
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Stelgidopteryx serripennis (Audubon, 1838) |
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The northern rough-winged swallow (Stelgidopteryx serripennis) is a small, migratory swallow. It is very similar to the southern rough-winged swallow, Stelgidopteryx ruficollis.
The genus name, Stelgidopteryx, is from Ancient Greek and means "scraper wing" and the species name, serripennis, is derived from Latin and means "saw feather". In the common name, "rough-winged" refers to the serrated edge feathers on the wing of this bird; this feature would only be apparent when holding this bird.
Six subspecies of the northern rough-winged swallow are currently recognized.
It has been proposed that another race be recognized, aphracta, but this is debated. This race is apparently described as being darker above with a greyer throat compared to serripennis. It has been described to occur in the western Great Basin region, in the United States.
Adults are 13–15 cm (5.1–5.9 in) in length, brown above with white underparts, a small bill, and a forked tail. Their throat is a white with a brownish-grey wash, and below the throat are its white underparts. The adults have a wingspan of 27–30 centimetres (11–12 in) and a weight of 10–18 g (0.35–0.63 oz). The males' under tail coverts are longer and broader than that of the females. The males also have hooked barbs on the outer web of their outer primary wings. The barbs on the females are shorter and straighter than that of the males. Juveniles can be distinguished from adults by their reddish-brown wing-bars.
They are similar in appearance to the bank swallow, but have a dusky throat and breast. They are closely related and very similar to the southern rough-winged swallow, Stelgidopteryx ruficollis, but that species has a more contrasting rump, and the ranges do not quite overlap.
The call of this swallow is described as a short, harsh zeep. It has also been described as a rough, low bzzt. It is often doubled. This call is similar to the call of the bank swallow.
The northern rough-winged swallow is native to Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Cayman Islands, Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Puerto Rico, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Turks and Caicos Islands, and the United States. They are vagrant to Aruba, Barbados, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, Curaçao, Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, and Sint Maarten. The populations in the US and Canada have been found to winter in the southern-most US and further south. While this is true, the populations in Mexico and further south seem to be non-migratory, although local post-breeding movements do occur. This swallow has been found to occur as high as 2,500 m (8,200 ft) in Costa Rica.
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Wikipedia