Tachycineta


Tachycineta is a genus of birds in the swallow family Hirundinidae. There are nine described species all restricted to the Americas.
These are slender swallows with forked tails. Most species have a metallic green back, green or blue head, and metallic blue or unglossed brown wings. All have pure white underparts, and four species have a white rump.
Most Tachycineta swallows are at least partially migratory, with only golden and mangrove swallow being essentially resident. All the species use natural or disused cavities for nest sites.

Taxonomy

The genus Tachycineta was introduced by the German ornithologists Jean Cabanisin 1850 with the violet-green swallow as the type species. The genus name is from Ancient Greek takhukinētos meaning "moving quickly".
The genus contains nine species,
divided into two sub-clades that are associated with geography: a North American/Caribbean clade and a South/Central American clade.
ImageScientific nameCommon nameDistribution
Tachycineta bicolorTree swallownorth-central Alaska and up to the tree line in Canada and as far south as Tennessee in the eastern part of its range, California and New Mexico in the west, and Kansas in the centre
Tachycineta cyaneoviridisBahama swallownorthern Bahamas: Andros, Grand Bahama, Abaco, and New Providence
Tachycineta thalassinaViolet-green swallowcentral Alaska down to Mexico
Tachycineta euchryseaGolden swallowHispaniola and formerly Jamaica
Tachycineta albilineaMangrove swallownative to Mexico and all of Central America
Tachycineta leucorrhoaWhite-rumped swallowArgentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay
Tachycineta leucopygaChilean swallowArgentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Falkland Islands, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
Tachycineta stolzmanniTumbes swallownorthwestern Peru and far southwestern Ecuador.
Tachycineta albiventerWhite-winged swallowtropical South America from Colombia, Venezuela, and Trinidad south to northern Argentina.