The White-rumped Swallow is a classic species of the genus Tachycineta, iridescent blue above and white below. As the name mentions, it also shows a white rump. The White-rumped Swallow is extremely similar to the more southern and western Chilean Swallow (Tachycineta meyeni); the two do not overlap in breeding distribution. The White-rumped is slightly more greenish above in coloration, and it shows a narrow white patch on the forehead that the Chilean Swallow does not. The White-rumped Swallow takes variable open habitats including agricultural areas, towns, forest edge, and Pampas grassland. It nests in a cavity, natural or man-made such as under the eaves of a house. In early spring males sing a wonderful bubbly song, either from a perch or in flight. During winter the distribution shifts northwards a bit, but many are resident, being hardy enough to take the southern cone winter, at this time they can be found side-by side with the look-alike Chilean Swallow.

Recommended Citation

. 2010. White-rumped Swallow (Tachycineta leucorrhoa), Neotropical Birds Online (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; retrieved from Neotropical Birds Online: http://neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/portal/species/overview?p_p_spp=32750