[Birding-Aus] Martin Identification

[max...@iinet.net.au]

Hi everyone,

for a while now, I have been having trouble identifying between Welcome Swallow's, Fairy and Tree Martins. Can someone please help me out?

Max.
Sydney...

[L&L Knight]

In flight, look at the tail. Swallows have deeply forked tails [hence
the term swallow tail] while martins have little forking.

Tree martins have grey heads, while Fairy martins have brown heads.

Regards, Laurie.

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[John Tongue]

Hi MAx and all,
We only get Welcome Swallows and Tree MArtins in Tassie, and another
easy way to distinguish them in flight (when they sometimes have
their tails "closed") is the Martins have a white rump, which the
Swallows have a dark rump. I can't recall off-hand (and in the
absence of my field guide) what colour the rump on a Fairy Martin is.

Cheers,
John Tongue
Ulverstone, Tas.

On 17/05/2008, at 12:57 PM, max...@iinet.net.au wrote:

[John Graff]

As others have said, Welcome Swallows have a deeply forked tail whereas both martins have only a slight fork and Welcome Swallows have a dark rump (compared to dull white in Tree Martin and white in Fairy Martins).

The main ways I separate Tree & Fairy Martins are
1) Crown colour. Tree Martins have a dark crown (I would call it a dark blue/black) while Fairy Martins have a red-brown crown. I've sometmes found that this difference can be surprisingly difficult to pick up, particularly when the birds are in flight.
2) Call: I'm not very good at describing calls, but Tree Martins have sort of a twittering call whereas Fairy Martins make more of a buzzing, churring sound. Someone else out there may be able to help out with better descriptions of the calls. I find the calls are particularly useful when separating the two martins.

Hope that helps

Cheers
John Graff

________________________________

Hi everyone,

Max.
Sydney...

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[kbrandwood]

HI All/Max, another ID point re the Martins which both have white rumps, however the rump of the Tree Martin as a soiled look about it where as the Fairy is bright white, the Fairy is noticeable smaller when seen in flight or perched, I find Martins also have a more gliding flight than Welcome Swallows. Time in the field looking at them Max, invaluable.

keith b the beautiful Hawkesbury 60km N/W of Sydney

Hi everyone,

Max.
Sydney...

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[max...@iinet.net.au]

Hi everyone,

thank you very much for your tips. I've been able to add Tree Martin to my 'lifers list' with the information you provided.

Max.
Sydney...