Red Sea cliff swallow

The Red Sea cliff swallow (Petrochelidon perdita), also known as the Red Sea swallow, is a species of bird in the family Hirundinidae.

Red Sea cliff swallow
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Hirundinidae
Genus: Petrochelidon
Species:
P. perdita
Binomial name
Petrochelidon perdita
(Fry & D. A. Smith, 1985)
Synonyms
  • Hirundo perdita

Distribution and habitat

It is possibly endemic to Sudan. It is known only from a single specimen, found in May 1984 at the Sanganeb lighthouse, north-east of Port Sudan, Sudan. This enigmatic swallow may still exist, though the lack of recent records is puzzling. Unidentified swallows have been sighted in Lake Langano (c. 20 birds) and in Awash National Park (3–8 birds) in the East African Rift in Ethiopia. Its scientific name means the lost swallow and it has been suggested that it might breed in the hills surrounding the Red Sea in Sudan or Ethiopia.[2]

The Lake Langano birds had blue-black upper parts with a rump varying from off-white to pale pink to rufous whilst the Awash swallows are described as having brownish throats and brownish-white underparts. The variations are not conclusive for attribution to the original specimen but cliff swallows are variable.[3] It is alternatively placed in the genus Hirundo.

References
Citations
  1. BirdLife International (2012). "Hirundo perdita". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2013.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  2. A Handbook To The Swallows And Martins Of The World: Angela Turner, Christopher Helm Press, London
  3. A Handbook To The Swallows And Martins Of The World: Angela Turner, Christopher Helm Press, London, (1989)
Sources
  • BirdLife International (2007) Species factsheet: Hirundo perdita. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 14 August 2007


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