Red-rumped Swallow

Perched on an electric wire - notice the tails

Admittedly, Red-rumped Swallow is not that easy to spot. Partly because it is very hard to identify anything special about this bird from a distance - and you usually see them perched on electric wires when you drive to some interior roads around Shimoga. So, yes, this is not a strict 'daily' bird, but is fairly common, especially during late monsoon. If you get off your bike or car and take a closer look, you can see the distictive shape of the tail, which looks similar to but is a lot shorter than the tail of Swuft - initially I mistook these for Swufts.

These are adapted for aerial feeding, but are quite comfortable walking around muddy areas, collecting mud for their nests.

Scientific name for this bird is Cecropis daurica.