Wildlifeof Nepal
Wire-tailed Swallow
Swallows & Martins
Photo: J.M.Garg · CC BY 3.0
Hirundo smithii
Basic stats
Diet
Insects, especially flies, caught in the air
Habitat
Half-bowl mud nest; solitary and territorial
Clutch size
3–4 eggs in Africa, up to 5 in Asia
Size
18cm
The wire-tailed swallow is a small swallow 18 cm long, with bright blue upperparts, bright white underparts and a chestnut cap, named for the very long filamentous outermost tail feathers that trail behind like two wires. Immature birds lack tail wires and have dull brown, rather than chestnut, caps, and juveniles have a brown crown, back and tail (Wikipedia, general species account).
Fast flyers, the birds feed on insects, especially flies, while airborne. The neat half-bowl nests are lined with mud collected in the beak, and unlike many swallows the birds are solitary and territorial nesters (Wikipedia, general species account).
Quick answers
- What does the Wire-tailed Swallow eat?
- Insects, especially flies, caught in the air
- What habitat does the Wire-tailed Swallow live in?
- Half-bowl mud nest; solitary and territorial
- How many eggs does the Wire-tailed Swallow lay?
- 3–4 eggs in Africa, up to 5 in Asia
- How big is the Wire-tailed Swallow?
- 18cm