Blue-and-White Swallow

Golondrina Azul Chica

Notiochelidon cyanoleuca

Length: 130mm. Sexes alike. Bill black, iris dark brown; upper part of head, hind neck and above mostly black with bluish sheen; rectrices dark brown, deeply forked. Lores, auriculars and orbital region black; throat, foreneck, breast and belly white; in mid-breast there are a few grey spots; flanks grey; undertail coverts black. Wing coverts as back; remiges dark brown; underwing coverts and axillaries brownish grey. Legs black. Average weight: 17g. Juveniles show shades of brown instead of bluish black, breast collar also brown, inconspicuous. Habitat and behaviour: it inhabits open country, preferably close to banks; it often perches on the ground; very common; it can also be seen capturing insects on the wing very low over water bodies. The Blue-and-White Swallow is often found in association with the Chilean Swallow (Tachycineta leucopyga), but its black rump and undertail coverts easily differentiate it. It nests in banks where it digs deep burrows; the nest is built with dry grass and feathers, the eggs, numbering one to five, are white. Range: this species occurs throughout Patagonia from Neuquén and Río Negro to Tierra del Fuego. In winter it migrates back to the north, reaching northern South America.