A Handbook to the Swallows and Martins of the World by Angela Turner

Author:Angela Turner
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 1994-06-15T00:00:00+00:00

40 ROCK MARTIN Plate 14

Hirundo fuligula Lichtenstein

Alternative name: Pale Crag Martin (northern populations)

Hirundo fuligula Lichtenstein, 1842, Verz. Säugth. Vög. Kaffernland, p. 18: Kaffirland, ½ Grahamstown, Cape Province.

Hirundo fuligula pusilla (Zedlitz), 1908, Asmara, 3000 m Eritrea.

Hirundo fuligula fusciventris (Vincent), 1933, Namuli Mt, 6200 ft Quelimane Province, Mozambique.

Hirundo fuligula bansoensis (Bannerman), 1923, Bamenda, 4750 ft Cameroon Highlands.

Hirundo fuligula anderssoni (Sharpe and Wyatt), 1887, Damaraland.

Hirundo fuligula pretoriae (Roberts), 1922, Pretoria, Transvaal.

Hirundo fuligula obsoleta (Cabanis), 1850, northeast Africa; restricted to lower Egypt on the right bank of the Nile in the region of Cairo and the neighbouring Moqattam Hills by Vaurie 1951, Am. Mus. Nov., 1529, p. 16.

Hirundo fuligula spatzi (Geyr), 1916, Gara Djenoun (½ Garet el Djenoun), Tuareg Mts.

Hirundo fuligula presaharica Vaurie, 1953, Biskra, southern Algeria.

Hirundo fuligula buchanani (Hartert), 1921, Mt Baguezan, Asben, French Sahara.

Hirundo fuligula arabica (Reichenow), 1905, Lahej, Arabia.

Hirundo fuligula perpallida Vaurie, 1951, Hofuf, Hasa district, eastern Saudi Arabia.

Hirundo fuligula peloplasta (Hume), 1872: ‘the Gaj. the Nurrinai and other small streams that issue from the bare stony hills that divide Suidh from Kelat… the rocky headland of Minora . . . Kurrachee Harbour. . . and along the Mekran Coast’ (pallida auct. occupied, Brooke 1974).

The northern populations of this species are sometimes considered to be a separate species, Hirundo obsoleta (the Pale Crag Martin), but the continuous variation in coloration and size suggests that the races are conspecific (Hall and Moreau 1970; Voous 1977). Thus the obsoleta group of pale races from North Africa and Asia intergrades in colour and size with the darker, smaller races from West, Central and East Africa. Birds of the fuligula group of races from southern Africa are larger than those of equatorial Africa but intergrade in colour, being generally paler. Rock Martins are the African representatives of the crag martin superspecies, which includes the Crag Martin (39) in Europe and the Dusky Crag Martin (41) in India. Meinertzhagen (1954) treated them as a single species, but the breeding ranges of rupestris and the obsoleta group overlap, suggesting separate species (Voous 1977).

FIELD CHARACTERS Rock Martins are largely earth-brown, with a russet chin and throat. They are distinctive compared with other African Hirundo species in having a drab plumage. They resemble Sand Martins (27), but differ in having white patches in the tail feathers. Northern races differ from Crag Martins in being paler and greyer, with a white throat and less contrasting underwing-coverts. Southern races are darker, but still show a paler throat and less dark underwing. They frequent mountainous areas. They breed in single pairs or small groups, but form larger flocks at other times. The flight is slow.

HABITAT This species replaces the Crag Martin in tropical and arid mountainous areas, but is absent from rainforest zones. The preferred habitat is hilly or terrain with steep cliffs and crags and rocky gorges, but they can be found down to sea level, especially in rocky areas and towns. Unusually for swallows, they are often seen far from water. In North Africa, they also frequent ancient monuments and some desert towns such as Aswan (Cramp 1988).

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