Nepal house martin

Nepal house martin
three swallow-like birds with black upperparts and white rumps and underparts perched on or by mud nests under a rocky ledge
At nest site in Bhutan
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Hirundinidae
Genus: Delichon
Species:
D. nipalense
Binomial name
Delichon nipalense
Moore, F, 1854
Resident range

The Nepal house martin (Delichon nipalense)[2] is a non-migratory passerine of the swallow family Hirundinidae. Its two subspecies breed in the Himalayas from northwestern India through Nepal to Myanmar, northern Vietnam, and just into China. It occurs in river valleys and rugged wooded mountain ridges at heights between 1,000–4,000 m (3,300–13,100 ft) altitude, where it nests in colonies beneath overhangs on vertical cliffs, laying three or four white eggs in an enclosed mud nest.

This martin has blue-black upperparts with a contrasting white rump, and white underparts. It resembles its close relatives, the Asian house martin and common house martin, but unlike those species it has a black throat and black undertail. It feeds in flocks with other swallows, catching flies and other insects in flight. It is subject to predation and parasites, but its status within its limited range appears secure.

  1. ^ BirdLife International (2016). "Delichon nipalense". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22712496A94335447. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22712496A94335447.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ^ Frequently Delichon nipalensis in older sources, but nipalense is currently preferred in accordance with David, N.; Gosselin, M. (2002). "The grammatical gender of avian genera". Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. 122: 257–282.