Wire-tailed Swallow

Latin Name: 
Hirundo smithii
Size: 
14cm
Description: 

Sexes alike. Glistening steel-blue above; chestnut cap; unmarked, pure white underbody distinctive; two long, wire-like projections (tail-wires) from outer tail feathers diagnostic. Solitary or small parties; almost always seen around water, either perched on overhead wires or hawking insects in graceful, acrobatic flight, swooping and banking; often flies very low, drinking from the surface; roosts in reed beds and other vegetation, often with warblers and wagtails.

Habitat: 
open areas, cultivation, habitation, mostly in vicinity of canals, lakes, rivers.
Food: 
insects captured on wing.
Distribution: 
common breeding (summer) visitor to N India, to about 1,800m in the Himalaya; breeds in many other parts of India; widespread over the area, excepting arid zones.
Call: 
Call Description: 
soft twittering note; pleasant song of breeding male.
National Status: