About Psalidoprocne pristoptera (Rüppell, 1840)
Psalidoprocne pristoptera, commonly known as the black rough-winged swallow, is a small swallow species that measures 13–15 cm in length and has a forked tail. Its plumage is black with a blue gloss, and males and females have similar appearances. However, females have shorter outer tail feathers and less distinct wing serrations than males. Juveniles are brown with very little gloss, and have short tails. This swallow has many subspecies, which some scientific authorities classify as separate species. Four northeastern races, including the nominate P. p. pristoptera, have noticeable white underwing coverts, while all other subspecies have green gloss and completely dark underwings. These four northeastern races are sometimes split as the separate species eastern rough-winged swallow, or eastern saw-wing swallow, under the scientific name P. orientalis. After this split, the subspecies P. p. holomelaena would be classified as the full black rough-winged swallow species P. holomelaena. Other subspecies are also sometimes raised to full species status, but authors Turner and Rose consider all races of the black rough-winged swallow to be incipient species at most. The black rough-winged swallow breeds in open wooded habitats, and prefers wetter areas, though some of its races live in mountain grassland habitat. It breeds across Africa, ranging from eastern Nigeria and Ethiopia south to Angola, northern Zimbabwe, and northern Mozambique. The subspecies P. p. holomelaena breeds further south, in southeastern Africa from southern Mozambique to the Cape in South Africa. Most of the species is mainly non-migratory, only making seasonal local or altitudinal movements. An exception is P. p. holomelaena, which is migratory, and spends the southern winter north of its breeding range. The nominate P. p. pristoptera race, found in the mountains of northern Ethiopia, also moves south after breeding.
