Pacific Swallow

[Blue Jay]

Shot in Kenting National Park, Taiwan

Pacific Swallow

Thanks for viewing:cheers:

 

[motionstills]

Thanks for sharing a Taiwanese Swallow :thumbsup::thumbsup: looking at the long forked tail, could this be a barn swallow instead?

 

[Blue Jay]

Thanks for sharing a Taiwanese Swallow :thumbsup::thumbsup: looking at the long forked tail, could this be a barn swallow instead?

Thanks motionstills for the kind words.
Actually, both Pacific and Barn Swallow can be found in Singapore. As for the ID, I am not sure as birds is my secondary interest. The bird was photographed in a slightly rundown place (which I find hard to describe without showing a picture).

 

[madmartian]

Nice catch brian! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

What a stern look on it's face - 'Who said can use flash, huh???'...................................:bsmilie: :bsmilie:

 

[Blue Jay]

Nice catch brian! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

What a stern look on it's face - 'Who said can use flash, huh???'...................................:bsmilie: :bsmilie:

Thanks MM for the kind words.

 

[tarzanboy66]

Good looking bird :thumbsup:

 

[mrsun]

Thanks motionstills for the kind words.
Actually, both Pacific and Barn Swallow can be found in Singapore. As for the ID, I am not sure as birds is my secondary interest. The bird was photographed in a slightly rundown place (which I find hard to describe without showing a picture).

Comments from one of my bird group friend:
Possibly Pacific Swallow but key features are:

1. Barn has chestnut only on face & throat, in Pacific extend to breast (cannot see in image)
2. Barn has extended outer tail streamers not see here (but not in all birds)

However I expect more Barn Swallows up north (I have no real information on the distribution of Swallows in Taiwan).

 

[pcool]

Nice shot Brian. Their colours sure is different from those in Singapore. Thanks for sharing. :thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[Blue Jay]

Comments from one of my bird group friend:
Possibly Pacific Swallow but key features are:

1. Barn has chestnut only on face & throat, in Pacific extend to breast (cannot see in image)
2. Barn has extended outer tail streamers not see here (but not in all birds)

However I expect more Barn Swallows up north (I have no real information on the distribution of Swallows in Taiwan).

The breast is visible in this picture, isn't it? Just that I don't see any chestnut on it. But although I am not very sure what tail streamers are, I agree with you that by looking at the picture, I know that there's no tail streamer. So, how did you conclude as Pacific? :cheers:

 

[mrsun]

The breast is visible in this picture, isn't it? Just that I don't see any chestnut on it. But although I am not very sure what tail streamers are, I agree with you that by looking at the picture, I know that there's no tail streamer. So, how did you conclude as Pacific? :cheers:

We usually expect straight forward yes or no answer. But in real life, in between black and white, there are various shades of grey. Birds, as in anything in nature, are not produced in a standard mould. Within individual birds in the same species, there may be variations in described features, which sometimes make id very interesting, especially if there is not enough pictorial information to demonstrate the different aspects. I suppose that's the reason why he said "possibly" which is the usual way of saying one is not 100% sure.

Regarding the tail streamers, this refers to the longest tail feathers in swallow tail.See pics below:



Source: http://people.bu.edu/msoren/ReviewPaperExample.pdf , Evans: Flight and tail evolution

As I said before, I am no bird expert. All info gathered with the help of my good friend google

PS In case the pics do not appear, please copy and paste url. Thanks.