Greater Striped Swallow
The greater striped swallow (Cecropis cucullata) is a large swallow that is native to Africa south of the equator. == Taxonomy == The greater striped swallow was described by the French polymath Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in 1780 in his Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux from a specimen collected in the Cape of Good Hope district of South Africa. The bird was also illustrated in a hand-coloured plate engraved by François-Nicolas Martinet in the Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle which was produced under the supervision of Edme-Louis Daubenton to accompany Buffon's text. Neither the plate caption nor Buffon's description included a scientific name but in 1783 the Dutch naturalist Pieter Boddaert coined the binomial name Hirundo cucullata in his catalogue of the Planches Enluminées. The greater striped swallow is now one of nine species that are placed in the genus Cecropis that was introduced by the German zoologist Friedrich Boie in 1826. The species is monotypic and no subspecies are recognised. The name of the genus is from the Ancient Greek Kekropis "Athenian woman". The specific epithet cucullata is from the Late Latin cucullatus meaning "hooded". == Description == The greater striped swallow is 18–20 cm (7.1–7.9 in) long. It has…
Garden Route National Park
George, South Africa
+126 birds+30 mammals
Where fynbos-clad mountains plunge into temperate forests and pristine coastline, one of Africa’s most ecologically diverse reserves sprawls across nearly […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKPilanesberg National Park
Moses Kotane Local Municipality, South Africa
+130 birds+30 mammals
Where ancient volcanic calderas rise above the surrounding lowveld, a 734-square-kilometre sanctuary unfolds across the North West Province of South […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKMokala National Park
Siyancuma Local Municipality, South Africa
+123 birds+30 mammals
Where semi-arid savanna meets ancient granite outcrops, a 715-square-kilometre wilderness unfolds across the Northern Cape’s undulating terrain. Mokala’s landscape is […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKCederberg Wilderness Area
Cederberg Local Municipality, South Africa
+106 birds+26 mammals
Where granite gorges slice through weathered sandstone mountains, the Cederberg’s dramatic topography reveals a landscape shaped by ancient geological forces. […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKAgulhas National Park
Cape Agulhas Local Municipality, South Africa
+106 birds+30 mammals
Where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans collide along Africa’s southernmost tip, a rugged coastline of limestone cliffs and windswept grasslands […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKMountain Zebra National Park
Inxuba Yethemba Local Municipality, South Africa
+123 birds+30 mammals
Jagged sandstone peaks rise abruptly from the high interior plateau of the Eastern Cape, their weathered faces sculpted by millennia […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKBontebok National Park
Swellendam Local Municipality, South Africa
+101 birds+30 mammals
Dawn breaks over rippling grasslands where the Breede River carves a verdant ribbon through the Western Cape lowlands. This intimate […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKAddo Elephant National Park
Sundays River Valley Local Municipality, South Africa
+129 birds+30 mammals
Where granite outcrops pierce acacia woodland and dense thicket smothers the Eastern Cape landscape, one of Africa’s most biodiverse reserves […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKIthala Game Reserve
uPhongolo Local Municipality, South Africa
+133 birds+29 mammals
Where granite ridges thrust upward through acacia woodland, the landscape shifts between intimate valleys and sweeping grasslands across nearly 500 […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKMarakele National Park
Modimolle Local Municipality, South Africa
+122 birds+30 mammals
Where granite gorges slice through the bushveld and ancient mountains rise in weathered majesty, southern Africa’s most underrated wilderness unfolds […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKCamdeboo National Park
Camdeboo Local Municipality, South Africa
+124 birds+30 mammals
Where granite gorges slice through semi-arid plateaus, ancient dolerite formations rise like sentinels above the Sundays River valley. Sprawling across […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKNamib-Naukluft National Park
Namibia
+119 birds+30 mammals
Where rust-coloured dunes rise like frozen waves against an impossibly blue sky, Africa’s oldest desert unfolds across nearly 95,000 square […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKWaterberg Plateau National Park
Okambukonde, Namibia
+124 birds+31 mammals
Where ancient sandstone cliffs rise 200 metres above the surrounding bushveld, a fortress of geology creates one of southern Africa’s […]
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