- Riparia
Taxobox
name = "Riparia"
image_width = 240px
image_caption = Sand Martin
regnum =Animal ia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Aves
ordo = Passeriformes
familia = Hirundinidae
genus = "Riparia"
genus_authority = Forster, 1817
subdivision_ranks = species
subdivision = "R. paludicola"
"R. congica"
"R. riparia"
"R. diluta"
"R. cincta""Riparia" is a small genus of
passerine bird s in theswallow family. The species, in taxonomic order, are:
*Brown-throated Sand Martin "Riparia paludicola"
*Congo Sand Martin "Riparia congica"
*Sand Martin (Bank Swallow in North America) "Riparia riparia"
*Pale Martin "Riparia diluta"
*Banded Martin "Riparia cincta"Pale Martin is frequently treated as a subspecies of Sand Martin.These are small or medium-sized swallows, ranging from 11-17 cm in length. They are brown above and mainly white below, and all have a dark breast band.
These species are closely associated with water. They nest in tunnels usually excavated by the birds themselves in a natural sand bank or earth mound. They lay white eggs, which are incubated by both parents, in a nest of straw, grass and feathers in a chamber at the end of the burrow. Some species breed colonially. The cosmopolitan Sand Martin is almost completely migratory, breeding across temperate
Eurasia andNorth America and wintering in the tropics. The other species are partial migrants or resident."Riparia" martins, like other swallows, take
insect s in flight over water, grassland or other open country.References
* Mullarney, Svensson, Zetterstrom and Grant, "Collins Bird Guide" ISBN 0-00-219728-6
* Sinclair, Hockey and Tarboton, "SASOL Birds of Southern Africa", ISBN 1-86872-721-1
*cite book |title=Swallows & martins : an identification guide and handbook |last=Turner |first=Angela K |coauthors=Chris Rose |publisher=Houghton Mifflin |year=1989 |id=ISBN 0-395-51174-7
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