Wednesday, June 06, 2007

swallow! probably.....

Here's another one: a bird photographed perching on the prow of a boat in Chobe National Park (again). Looks to me like some sort of swallow; unfortunately it's facing the wrong way, but the red cap is quite distinctive. Any suggestions?

4 comments:

The Black Rabbit said...

More like a fox-coloured cap to that swallow of yours really, which is certainly distinctive of a "Striped Swallow" though without knowing its size, I couldn't tell you whether it's a "GREATER" or "LESSER" Striped Swallow.
Another very distinctive feature of these species is their striped breast - unlike our own "Barn Swallows" - but your particular Swallow seemed reluctant to flash its breasts to the camera. No comment needed here.

Anonymous said...

What's the average laden weight of a swallow in flight?

electrichalibut said...

Can I make the QI woo-woo siren noise now please, while the words MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL flash up on a screen behind me?

You've no idea how difficult it was resisting the temptation to make the same joke in the post. If it hadn't been nearly bedtime I probably would have.

electrichalibut said...

Think you may be right there - it does look like one of these. Can't make out the "diffuse streaking" cos it's facing the wrong way, or the "orange rump" cos it's got its wings covering it up. Can't make out whether it's carrying any coconuts, either (gripping them by the husk, of course).