Wire-tailed Swallow

Wire-tailed swallow is easily the most attractive swallow I have seen so far. As the name suggests, this swallow has two long "wires" hanging behind their already longish wings. With its safrron forehead and white underparts, with a black covering around the eyes, this bird is really a treat for your eyes.

We can see this bird near water sources, like Tunga channels - where I caught the picture here. Salim Ali notes that it is hard to catch these birds far from water sources. Its chief food sources are flies and other midgets.

At the perticular time when I took this snap, the female was also sitting besides the male. The tail wire of the female is considerably shorter, in fact barely distinguishable from a distance.

Scientific name for this bird is Hirundo smithii.