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Congo Martin
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Congo Martin
Riparia congica
The Congo martin or Congo sand martin (Riparia congica) is a small passerine bird in the swallow family.
It occurs only along the Congo River and its tributary, the Ubangi. It is fairly abundant within its restricted range.
From the article Congo martin on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), quoted section by section
Description
The 11 cm long Congo martin is light brown above with a slightly darker crown and wings. It has a dark line through the eye. The underside of the body is white except for a pale brown breast. It does not have the distinct narrow breast band shown by the sand martin. The bill is black and the legs are brown. Sexes are similar, but the young have pale tips to the feathers on the back, rump and wings. The call has not been recorded. Although the indistinct breast band of the Congo martin is different from the clearly defined markings of the sand martin, in practice it is not easy to distinguish the resident species from the winter migrant.
What it does
The food of this species consists of small insects, such as gnats and other flies, caught on the wing over the river or in clearings and other open areas within a few miles of it. It feeds in small flocks or with other swallows, especially wintering sand martins.
Wikipedia: “Behaviour”
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Where it lives
Recorded sightings
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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
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In the stacks
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Every page naming Riparia congica in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 11944.