White-tailed Swallow (Hirundo megaensis)
Illustration redrawn by AI from a real photograph

White-tailed Swallow

Hirundo megaensis Benson, 1942

11 gWeight

The white-tailed swallow (Hirundo megaensis) is a small swallow belonging to the family Hirundinidae and is endemic to Oromia, Ethiopia.

Busiest months: November · Most records: Ethiopia

Vulnerable

Where and when it's recorded

Busiest months: November · Most records: Ethiopia

White-tailed Swallow has been recorded at 7 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 1 country or region.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

  1. Yabello areaEthiopia67 records
  2. Lake AwassaEthiopia4 records
  3. Debre Libanos MonasteryEthiopia2 records
More places
  1. Debre Libanos – Lodge and Portuguese BridgeEthiopia2 records
  2. Gibe GorgeEthiopia1 record
  3. Abidjatta-Shalla NPEthiopia1 record
  4. Wondo GenetEthiopia1 record

Countries and regions with the most records

Ethiopia

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The white-tailed swallow (Hirundo megaensis) is a small swallow belonging to the family Hirundinidae and is endemic to Oromia, Ethiopia. It is commonly referred to as "Benson's swallow" after the ornithologist Constantine Walter Benson, who described the species. This small bird is classified as a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), as there is a progressive declination of the species which now consists of less than 10,000 adult individuals worldwide.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the White-tailed Swallow?

The White-tailed Swallow weighs around 11 g.

Where does the White-tailed Swallow live?

Its breeding range: Africa: montane south-central Ethiopia. It is most often recorded in Ethiopia.

When is the best time to see the White-tailed Swallow?

At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in November (Northern Hemisphere).

Is the White-tailed Swallow endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the White-tailed Swallow as Vulnerable.

What does the White-tailed Swallow eat?

Main food: Insects & other invertebrates.

What family is the White-tailed Swallow in?

It belongs to the family Swallows, Martins (Hirundinidae), order Passerines (Passeriformes).

At a glance

Weight
11 g
Habitat
Shrubland
Diet
Insects & other invertebrates
Lifestyle
Feeds in the air
Migration
Resident (barely migrates)
Conservation
Vulnerable
More measurements
Wing
102 mm
Tail
54 mm
Bill
10 mm
Tarsus
9 mm

Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.

Range

Africa: montane south-central Ethiopia

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2

Classification

Order
Passerines Passeriformes
Family
Swallows, Martins Hirundinidae
Genus
Hirundo

Other birds in the genus Hirundo

Blue SwallowBlue SwallowHirundo atrocaeruleaBlack-and-rufous SwallowBlack-and-rufous SwallowHirundo nigrorufaPearl-breasted SwallowPearl-breasted SwallowHirundo dimidiataHill SwallowHill SwallowHirundo domicolaPacific SwallowPacific SwallowHirundo javanicaTahiti SwallowTahiti SwallowHirundo tahiticaPied-winged SwallowPied-winged SwallowHirundo leucosomaWelcome SwallowWelcome SwallowHirundo neoxenaBarn SwallowBarn SwallowHirundo rusticaRed-chested SwallowRed-chested SwallowHirundo lucidaEthiopian SwallowEthiopian SwallowHirundo aethiopicaAngola SwallowAngola SwallowHirundo angolensis
White-tailed Swallow

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Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by David Bishop. ↗

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