Iwatsubame Delichon dasypus
Rock swallow | The Japan Times Online
Rock swallow
By
ROWAN HOOPER
Japanese name:
Iwa tsubame
Scientific name:
Delichon dasypus
Description:
The translation of the Chinese name for this bird is smoky-bellied hair-leg swallow. It is also known as the Asian housemartin. It's a small bird, some 12-cm long, and is colored a dark steel-blue above and is white — not smoky — underneath. The throat is gray, and the underwings are gray-brown. Young birds are duller. Perhaps it's the wings that give the smoky name. Males give a "za-za-za" call. It has white feathers covering the legs and toes, hence the "hair-leg" part of the name.
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