Greater Striped Swallow
Photo © Henry de Lange
Photo © Henry de Lange — CC BY 4.0 — Source: iNaturalist #278917763The 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…
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Musina Local Municipality, South Africa
+358 birds+29 mammals
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+446 birds+45 mammals
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Botswana
+213 birds+13 mammals
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George, South Africa
+353 birds+54 mammals
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VIEW NATIONAL PARKPilanesberg National Park
Moses Kotane Local Municipality, South Africa
+364 birds+49 mammals
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Siyancuma Local Municipality, South Africa
+246 birds+35 mammals
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VIEW NATIONAL PARKCederberg Wilderness Area
Cederberg Local Municipality, South Africa
+136 birds+12 mammals
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VIEW NATIONAL PARKKruger National Park
Ba-Phalaborwa Local Municipality, South Africa
+540 birds+91 mammals
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VIEW NATIONAL PARKAgulhas National Park
Cape Agulhas Local Municipality, South Africa
+224 birds+13 mammals
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VIEW NATIONAL PARKSehlabathebe National Park
South Africa
+60 birds+1 mammals
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VIEW NATIONAL PARKTankwa-Karoo National Park
Hantam Local Municipality, South Africa
+201 birds+20 mammals
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Inxuba Yethemba Local Municipality, South Africa
+265 birds+35 mammals
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VIEW NATIONAL PARKBontebok National Park
Swellendam Local Municipality, South Africa
+204 birds+11 mammals
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VIEW NATIONAL PARKAugrabies Falls National Park
Kai !Garib Local Municipality, South Africa
+176 birds+20 mammals
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Sundays River Valley Local Municipality, South Africa
+388 birds+55 mammals
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VIEW NATIONAL PARKIthala Game Reserve
uPhongolo Local Municipality, South Africa
+328 birds+26 mammals
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VIEW NATIONAL PARKMarakele National Park
Modimolle Local Municipality, South Africa
+341 birds+36 mammals
Granite ridges and sprawling grasslands dominate this 1,176-square-kilometre reserve in Limpopo's heartland, where bushveld transitions between rocky outcrops and open savanna. The park's rugged topography creates…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKCamdeboo National Park
Camdeboo Local Municipality, South Africa
+272 birds+24 mammals
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Namibia
+221 birds+13 mammals
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VIEW NATIONAL PARKSperrgebiet National Park
Barcelona, Namibia
+181 birds+18 mammals
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Henties Bay, Namibia
+230 birds+13 mammals
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+217 birds+33 mammals
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Namibia
+283 birds+17 mammals
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Namibia
+377 birds+35 mammals
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VIEW NATIONAL PARKEtosha National Park
Namibia
+356 birds+58 mammals
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Hammerstein, Namibia
+107 birds+12 mammals
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VIEW NATURE RESERVEWaterberg Plateau National Park
Okambukonde, Namibia
+198 birds+27 mammals
Where ancient sandstone cliffs rise 200 metres above the surrounding bushveld, a fortress of geology creates one of southern Africa's most compelling ecosystems. The plateau's steep…
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