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White-backed SwallowAlternative names: "Black-and-white Swallow", "White-breasted Swallow", "White-capped Swallow" Size: 14-15 cm |
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Habitat |
(for details refer to a field guide) |
White-backed Swallows populate about the southern half of the Australian continent. There are two major populations, one in WA and one in the south-east of the continent. Their range in WA encompasses about the western three-quarters of the state, up to about Eighty Mile Beach in the north and the Gibson Desert Nature Reserve in the east. They are not found on the south-western tip of WA and rarely in the Perth area. The range of the second large population extends from the southern NT via most of SA, northern VIC and all of NSW into southern QLD, including the Simpson Desert. They are not found along the south coast of VIC and up to about Woollongong, NSW, and only rarely further up north along the NSW coast. Occasionally, especially after substantial inland rainfall, White-backed Swallows can extend their range to encompass basially the entire southern continent, up to a line connecting about Eighty Mile Beach, WA, with Mt. Isa, QLD and Rockhampton, QLD.
White-backed Swallows are mostly found in open, sandy country.
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Sightings |
White-backed Swallows used the summer months to hunt insects above the paddocks where we lived in 2003-2006, 20 km south of Narrabri, NSW. They came in flocks of around 50 birds, but did not settle to allow us taking a photo.
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Behaviour |
| Social behaviour: Communal | Mobility: Sedentary | Elementary unit: Flock |
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Food |
Like all other swallows known to us, White-backed Swallows are insect hunters. They feed in-flight on small insects.
