Crag martin
Crag martin | |
---|---|
Dusky crag martin (Ptyonoprogne concolor) | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Hirundinidae |
Subfamily: | Hirundininae
|
Genus: | Ptyonoprogne Reichenbach, 1850 |
Type species | |
Hirundo rupestris[1] Scopoli, 1769
|
The crag martins are four species of small passerine birds in the genus Ptyonoprogne of the swallow family. They are the Eurasian crag martin (P. rupestris), the pale crag martin (P. obsoleta), the rock martin (P. fuligula) and the dusky crag martin (P. concolor). They are closely related to each other, and have formerly sometimes been considered to be one species. They are closely related to the Hirundo barn swallows and are placed in that genus by some authorities. These are small swallows with brown upperparts, paler underparts without a breast band, and a square tail with white patches. They can be distinguished from each other on size, the colour shade of the upperparts and underparts, and minor plumage details like throat colour. They resemble the sand martin, but are darker below, and lack a breast band.
These are species of craggy mountainous
Taxonomy
The four Ptyonoprogne species are the
These are members of the swallow family of birds, and are placed in the subfamily Hirundininae, which comprises all swallows and martins except the very distinctive
The small, pale northern subspecies of crag martin found in the mountains of North Africa and the Arabian peninsula is now usually split as the pale crag martin, Ptyonoprogne obsoleta.[6][7] The remaining birds are now identified as Eurasian crag martin.
List of crag martin species
Common name | Scientific name [a] | IUCN Red List Status | Distribution | Picture | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Status | Trend | Population[b] | ||||
Eurasian crag martin | Ptyonoprogne rupestris , 1769)
(Scopoli |
LC IUCN[8] | 1,200,000 - 2,299,999 | |||
Pale crag martin | Ptyonoprogne obsoleta , 1850)
(Cabanis |
LC IUCN[9] | ||||
Rock martin | Lichtenstein, 1842)[10]
|
LC IUCN[11] | ||||
Dusky crag martin | Ptyonoprogne concolor , 1832)
(Sykes |
LC IUCN[12] |
Description
These martins are 12–15 cm (4.7–5.9 in) long with drab brown or grey plumage and a short square tail that has small white patches near the tips of all but the central and outermost pairs of feathers. The eyes are brown, the small bill is mainly black, and the legs are brownish-pink. The sexes are similar, but juveniles show pale edges to the upperparts and flight feathers. The species differ in plumage shades and size, Eurasian crag martin being significantly larger than the others. The flight is slow, with rapid wing beats interspersed with flat-winged glides.
These drab martins can only be confused with each other, or with sand martins of the genus Riparia. Even the smaller Ptyonoprogne species are slightly larger and more robust than the
Distribution and habitat
These are exclusively Old World species. The rock martin breeds throughout Africa and through the Middle East as far as Afghanistan and Pakistan, and is replaced by the dusky crag martin further east in India and
The crag martins mainly breed on dry, warm and sheltered cliffs in mountainous areas with crags and gorges, and the Eurasian crag martin reaches 5,000 m (16,500 ft) in Central Asia. The use of buildings as artificial cliffs has enabled breeding expansion into lowland areas, particularly for the two tropical species,[6] and the rock martin breeds in desert towns.[19] In South Asia, migrant Eurasian birds sometimes join with flocks of the dusky crag martin and roost communally on ledges of cliffs or buildings in winter.[20]
Behaviour
Breeding
Martin pairs often nest alone, although where suitable sites are available small loose colonies may form. These are more common south of the Sahara, where up to 40 rock martin pairs together have been recorded. Crag martins aggressively defend their nesting territory against conspecifics and other species. The nest, built by both adults over several weeks, is made from several hundred mud pellets and lined with soft dry grass or sometimes feathers. It may be a half-cup when constructed under an overhang on a vertical wall or cliff, or shaped as a bowl like that of the barn swallow when placed on a sheltered ledge. The nest may be built on a rock cliff face, in a crevice or on a man-made structure, and is re-used for the second brood and in subsequent years. Usually two broods are raised, and the rock martin may nest for a third time in a season.[6]
The clutch is two to five eggs that are white with brownish, ruddy or grey blotches particularly at the wide end. The egg size ranges from an average 20.2 x 14.0 mm (0.80 x 0.55 in) with a weight of 2.08 g (0.073 oz) for the Eurasian crag martin to 17.7 x 13.0 mm (0.70 x 0.51 in) with a weight of 1.57 g (0.06 oz) for the dusky crag martin. Both adults incubate the eggs for 13–19 days to hatching, and feed the chicks at least ten times an hour until they fledge 24–27 days later. The fledged young continue to be fed by the parents for some time after they can fly.[6]
Feeding
Ptyonoprogne martins feed mainly on insects caught in flight, although they will occasionally feed on the ground. When breeding, birds often fly back and forth along a rock face catching insects in their bills and usually feeding close to the nesting territory. To maintain the high frequency with which the young are fed, the adults mainly forage in the best hunting zones in the immediate vicinity of the nest, since the further they have to fly to catch insects, the longer it would take to bring food to the chicks in the nest.[21] At other times, they may hunt low over open ground. The insects taken depend on what is locally available, but may include mosquitoes and other flies, aerial spiders, ants and beetles. Martins often feed alone, but sizeable groups may congregate if food is abundant, such as where insects are fleeing grass fires. The Eurasian crag martin may take aquatic species such as stoneflies, caddisflies and pond skaters.[6] Cliff faces generate standing waves in the airflow which concentrate insects near vertical areas. Crag martins exploit the area close to the cliff when they hunt, relying on their high manoeuvrability and ability to perform tight turns.[21]
Predators and parasites
The crag martins may be hunted by fast, agile birds of prey such as the African hobby or Eurasian hobby that specialise in catching swallows and martins in flight,[22] and by other falcons such as the peregrine and Taita falcons.[23][24][25] Crows may attack migrating Eurasian crag martins,[17] and that species also treats common kestrels, Eurasian sparrowhawks, Eurasian jays and common ravens as predators if they approach the nesting cliffs.[21] The dusky crag martin has been recorded in the diet of the greater false vampire bat, Megaderma lyra.[26]
Crag martins may host parasites, including blood-sucking mites of the genus Dermanyssus such as D. chelidonis,[27] and the nasal mite Ptilonyssus ptyonoprognes.[28] Invertebrate species first found in nests of crag martin species include the tick Argas (A.) africolumbae from a rock martin nest[29] and the fly Ornithomya rupes and the flea Ceratophyllus nanshanensis from European crag martin nests.[30][31]
Status
All four species have extensive ranges and large populations, and the increasing use of artificial nest sites has enabled range expansion. The rock martin often breeds in lowland and desert towns,
Notes
- ^ A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Accipiter.
- ^ Estimate for the number of mature individuals in the wild.
References
- ^ "Hirundinidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
- ^ Reichenbach (1850) plate LXXXVII.
- ^ "Crag Martin Ptyonoprogne rupestris [Scopoli, 1769]". Bird facts. British Trust for Ornithology. Retrieved 28 March 2010.
- ^ PMID 15737595.
- PMID 8516319.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Turner (1989) pp. 158–164
- ^ Bergier, Patrick (2007). "L'Hirondelle isabelline Ptyonoprogne fuligula au Maroc". Go-South Bulletin (in French). 4: 6–25.
- . Retrieved 3 January 2021.
- ^ "Species factsheet Hirundo fuligula ". BirdLife International. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
- ^ Lichtenstein, Martin (1842). Verzeichniss einer Sammlung von Säugethieren und Vögeln aus dem Kaffernlande, nebst einer Käffersammlung [Directory of a collection of mammals and birds from the Kaffir country] (in German). Berlin: Royal Academy of Sciences. p. 18.
- . Retrieved 3 January 2021.
- ^ a b "Species factsheet Hirundo concolor". BirdLife International. Retrieved 4 April 2010
- ^ Mullarney et al (1999) p.240
- ^ a b c Snow & Perrins (1998) pp. 1059–1061
- ^ Grimmett et al (2002) p. 268
- ^ Rasmussen & Anderton (2005) p. 311
- ^ a b Dodsworth, P T L (1912). "The Crag Martin (Ptyonoprogne rupestris)". Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 21 (2): 660–661.
- ^ Barlow et al. (1997) pp. 276–277
- ^ Snow & Perrins (1998) pp. 1058–1059
- ^ Ali & Ripley (1986) pp. 53–54
- ^ a b c Fantur, von Roman (1997). "Die Jagdstrategie der Felsenschwalbe (Hirundo rupestris) [The hunting strategy of the crag martin]" (PDF). Carinthia (in German and English). 187 (107): 229–252.
- ^ Barlow et al. (1997) p. 165
- .
- ^ Simmons, Robert E; Jenkins, Andrew R; Brown Christopher J "A review of the population status and threats to Peregrine Falcons throughout Namibia Archived 20 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine" in Sielicki & Mizera (2008) pp. 99–108
- .
- ^ "Megaderma lyra". Bats in China. The Darwin Initiative Centre for Bat Research. Retrieved 6 April 2010
- PMID 17645179.
- ^ Amrine, Jim. "Bibliography of the Eriophyidae". Biology Catalog. Texas A&M University Department of Entomology. Retrieved 30 March 2010
- PMID 1159742.
- ^ Hutson, A M (1981). "A new species of the Ornithomya biloba-group (Dipt., Hippoboscidae) from crag martin (Ptyonoprogne rupestris) (Aves, Hirundinidae)". Mitteilungen der Schweizerischen Entomologischen Gesellschaft. 54 (1–2): 157–162.
- ^ Tsai, L-y; Pan, F-c; Liu Chuan (1980). "A new species of Ceratophyllus from Chinghai Province, China". Acta Entomologica Sinica. 23 (1): 79–81.
- ^ "Species factsheet Hirundo fuligula ". BirdLife International. Retrieved 11 April 2010
- ^ Evans, T D; Towll, H C; Timmins, R J; Thewlis, R M; Stones, A J; Robichaud, W G; Barzen J (2000). "Ornithological records from the lowlands of southern Laos during December 1995-September 1996, including areas on the Thai and Cambodian borders" (PDF). Forktail. 16: 29–52. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 June 2011.
- ^ Shing, Lee Kwok; Wai-neng Lau, Michael; Fellowes, John R; Lok, Chan Bosco Pui (2006). "Forest bird fauna of South China: notes on current distribution and status" (PDF). Forktail. 22: 23–38. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 June 2011.
- ^ Azam, Mirza Mohammad; Shafique, Chaudhry M (2005). "Birdlife in Nagarparkar, district Tharparkar, Sindh". Records Zoological Survey of Pakistan. 16: 26–32.
- ^ Eaton, James. "Cambodia Oriental Bird Club fundraising tour 21st January – 2nd February 2007" (PDF). birdtourasia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 7 April 2010
- ^ "Species factsheet Hirundo rupestris". BirdLife International. Retrieved 26 March 2010
Cited texts
- ISBN 978-0-19-561857-0.
- Grimmett, Richard; Inskipp, Carol; Inskipp, Tim (2002). Birds of India. London: Christopher Helm Publishers Ltd. p. 226. ISBN 978-0-7136-6304-4.
- Hume, Allan Octavian (1890). The nests and eggs of Indian birds. Vol. 2 (2nd ed.). London: R H Porter.
- Mullarney, Killian; Svensson, Lars; Zetterstrom, Dan; Grant, Peter (1999). Collins Bird Guide. London: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-00-219728-1.
- Rasmussen, Pamela C.; Anderton, J. C. (2005). ISBN 978-84-87334-66-5.
- Reichenbach, Heinrich Gustav (1850). Avium systema naturale (in German). Dresden and Leipzig: F. Hofmeister.
- Scopoli, Giovanni Antonio (1769). Annus I Historico-Naturalis (in French). Lipsiae: Christian Gottlob Hischeri.
- Snow, David; Perrins, Christopher M., eds. (1998). The Birds of the Western Palearctic concise edition (2 volumes). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-854099-1.
- Turner, Angela K; Rose, Chris (1989). A handbook to the swallows and martins of the world. London: Christopher Helm. ISBN 978-0-7470-3202-1.