White-thighed Swallow

The white-thighed swallow (Atticora tibialis) is a species of bird in the family Hirundinidae, the swallows and martins. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Panama, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. == Taxonomy and systematics == The white-thighed swallow was described in 1853 by John Cassin as "Petrochelidon ? tibialis". Cassin was unsure that it belonged in that genus, stating that it "does not appear to us to belong to either of the genera of swallows heretofore established", which were Petrochelidon and Collocalia. (The latter genus is now applied to some swifts.) In the late 1800s it was assigned to genus Microchelidon and for much of the twentieth century and into the twenty-first it was assigned to the monotypic genus Neochelidon. Based in part on a study published in 2005, beginning in 2008 Neochelidon was merged into the present genus Atticora. The white-thighed swallow and the black-capped swallow (A. pileata) are sister species and share genus Atticora with the white-banded swallow (A. fasciata). The white-thighed swallow has these three subspecies: Atticora tibialis minima (Chapman, 1924) Atticora tibialis griseiventris (Chapman, 1924) Atticora tibialis tibialis (Cassin, 1853) == Description == The white-thighed swallow averages about 12 cm (4.7 in)…