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Northern House Martin 毛腳燕

hello yyattung!
i have a question about the northern house martin and the asian house martin
how to identify them and what is the main characteristic?  
thank u very much

this pic was taken in Haifeng Guangdong yesterday.  i think it was an asian house martin, wasnt it?


[ Last edited by xiaocao at 19/11/2009 21:30 ]

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thank u for replying my question
i have checked the CHINA BIRD REPORT. there is no record of the Northern in south China.  
and the Asian's records can explain the house martins' distribution in Guangdong better.

however, we mainland birder are very curious about why can't we record the Northern house martin as they breed in northern area and spend winter in southeast asia according to the wild guide to the birds of China


and, i think another characteristic to distinguish these two house martins is their tail forks.
here is another pic also taken in Haifeng


u can see the fork of tail is very shallow, not deep like the Northern house martin according to the wild guide illustrated
so i want to know what the martin u saw looked like

thank u again!

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ajohn, thank u for ur answer to these two species, especially for the discription of the white wing undercover
there r 2 pics of the first martin what i think is a Northern house martin
and i think the width of the tail cover maybe a more accurate identifiable feature

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