Red Sea cliff swallow
| Red Sea cliff swallow | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Hirundinidae |
| Genus: | Petrochelidon |
| Species: | P. perdita
|
| Binomial name | |
| Petrochelidon perdita (Fry & D. A. Smith, 1985)
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| Synonyms | |
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The Red Sea cliff swallow (Petrochelidon perdita), also known as the Red Sea swallow, is a species of bird in the family Hirundinidae.
Distribution and habitat
[edit]It is possibly endemic to Sudan. It is known only from a single specimen, found in May 1984 at the Sanganeb lighthouse, north-east of Port Sudan, Sudan. Its scientific name means the lost swallow and it has been suggested that it might breed in the hills surrounding the Red Sea in Sudan or Ethiopia.[2]
This enigmatic swallow may still exist, as unidentified cliff swallows have been sighted a number of times in Ethiopia which may have been this species, although they may belong to an additional undescribed species due to a number of plumage differences.[3] Two unidentified pale-rumped swallows were also observed in 1983 at Sanganeb heading out over the Red Sea in the direction of Jeddah just prior to his discovery of the dead type specimen, so it has been suggested it may breed in hills fringing the Red Sea coast of western Saudi Arabia.[2][4]
References
[edit]- Citations
- ^ BirdLife International (2016). "Petrochelidon perdita". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22712390A94332074. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22712390A94332074.en. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
- ^ a b Turner, A.; Rose, C. (1989). A Handbook To The Swallows And Martins Of The World. Christopher Helm Press, London. ISBN 0747032025.
- ^ Butchart, S.H.M. (2007). "Birds to find: a review of "lost", obscure and poorly known African bird species". Bulletin of the African Bird Club. 14 (2): 139–157. doi:10.5962/p.309813.
- ^ Madge, S.C.; Redman, N.J. (1989). "The existence of a form of Cliff Swallow, Hirundo sp., in Ethiopia". Scopus. 13: 126–129.
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