The Story
I photographed this White-banded Swallow (Atticora fasciata) from the Ferry Marcopolo on the Orteguaza River at Puerto Arango, near Florencia, Caquetá, Colombia, in February 2020. It lives in tropical lowland forest near rivers across northern South America. It nests in burrows, probably digging its own and sometimes using riverbanks when the water is low. It breeds alone or in small colonies and roosts in small groups at dusk. It hunts insects in the air, sometimes with Black-collared and White-winged Swallows. Its buzzy call is usually given in flight. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I used a Pentax K-1 with the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6 for this one, at 1/400 sec, f/5.6, ISO 3200. Florencia, the capital of Caquetá, is known as the golden gateway to the Colombian Amazon and was founded on December 25, 1902.
©2021 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The White-banded Swallow (Atticora fasciata) belongs to the family Hirundinidae (Swallows) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2024), with the population trend listed as decreasing. Source: IUCN Red List
