Banded Martin

Riparia cincta (Boddaert, 1783)

Banded Martin, Riparia cincta, is an African bird of open country, especially farmland, grassland and savannah, usually close to water. It is set apart by its dark breast band, white underwings and square tail, which help distinguish it from similar martins. The species breeds across much of Africa, from Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Ethiopia and south to South Africa. It is not colonial when nesting, and pairs dig long tunnels in sand banks or earth mounds, where the nest chamber lies at the end.

Order

Passeriformes

Family

Hirundinidae — Swallows, Martins

Breeding range

Africa: widespread