About Ptyonoprogne fuligula rufigula (Fischer & Reichenow, 1884)
The nominate subspecies of large rock martin, Ptyonoprogne fuligula fuligula, measures 12–15 cm (4.7–5.9 in) in length. It has earth-brown upperparts and a short square tail, which bears small white patches near the tip of every feather pair except the central and outermost pairs. Its chin, throat, upper breast and underwing coverts are cinnamon, while the remainder of its underparts match the brown color of its upperparts. The large rock martin has brown eyes, a small mainly black bill, and brownish-pink legs. The sexes have similar appearances, while juveniles have pale edges along their upperparts and flight feathers. Other subspecies differ from the nominate form in the ways described earlier. The flight of the large rock martin is slow: it alternates rapid wing beats with flat-winged glides, and it is more acrobatic than the larger Eurasian crag martin. This is a quiet bird species: its song is a muffled twitter, and other calls include a 'trrt' that resembles the common house martin's call, a nasal 'vick', and a high-pitched 'twee' contact call. The large rock martin is much drabber than most African swallows, and confusion is only likely with other crag martins or sand martins of the genus Riparia. The pale crag martin is smaller, paler and greyer than this southern relative. Although only slightly larger than the sand martin and brown-throated sand martin, the large rock martin is more robust, has white tail spots, and does not have a breast band. It is paler on the throat, breast and underwings than the all-dark form of the brown-throated sand martin. The large rock martin breeds in suitable habitat across most of South Africa and Namibia. It has a more patchy distribution in Zimbabwe, and is absent from most of Botswana. It is largely resident, only making local movements or descending to lower altitudes after breeding. Its natural breeding habitat is hilly or mountainous terrain with cliffs and escarpment ridges, often located far from water. When breeding, the species readily uses man-made structures as a replacement for natural rock faces.
