About Cecropis daurica (Laxmann, 1769)
Cecropis daurica (Laxmann, 1769), commonly known as the eastern red-rumped swallow, measures 19 cm in length and has a deeply forked tail. Its upperparts are blue, except for a reddish collar that is sometimes absent, and a streaked chestnut rump. The face and underparts are white with heavy dark streaking, and the wings are brown. The sexes have identical plumage, while juveniles are duller and browner, with a paler rump and shorter outer tail feathers. There are three recognized subspecies that differ in plumage and range. The mainland Indian subspecies C. d. erythropygia has a uniform dark chestnut rump patch with no dark shaft-streaks, a shallow tail fork, and an indistinct white patch on the inner web of the outer tail feathers. The subspecies C. d. japonica breeds in eastern Asia and winters in Thailand, Burma, India, and northern Australia; it has heavy underpart streaking and faint streaks on the rump. The Himalayan subspecies C. d. nipalensis breeds from Kulu in the west to Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh in the east, and migrates to peninsular India for winter; it has a paler rump with dark shaft streaks.
