Scissor-tailed african swallow

The scissor-tailed African swallow ^[1] ( lat. Psalidoprocne obscura ) is a species of swallow birds.

Scissor-tailed african swallow
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryotes Kingdom: Animals The kingdom : Eumetazo No rank : Bilateral symmetric No rank : Recycled Type of: Chord Subtype : Vertebrates Infrastructure : Jaws Above class : Tetrapods Class: Birds Subclass : Real birds Infraclass : Novonyobnye Squad: Sparrows Suborder : Songbirds Infrastructure : Passerida Superfamily : Sylvioidea Family: Swallow Subfamily : Hirundininae Rod: African swallows View: Scissor-tailed african swallow
International Scientific Name
Psalidoprocne obscura ( Hartlaub , 1855)
Area
Security status
Least concern IUCN 3.1 Least Concern : 22712562

The species is common in West Africa from Senegal to Cameroon . It lives in open spaces near water bodies.

Mostly swallow up to 17 cm long. The body is black in color with a greenish tint. Tail deeply dissected. Sexual dimorphism is mild - females have a slightly shorter tail.

It feeds on flying insects. Hunting low flying over water or pastures. The nest is built on steep slopes in burrows up to 60 cm long. There are 2 eggs in the nest.