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The Fairy Martin (Petrochelidon ariel) are a fast small bird, sometimes called the Bottle Swallow, because its nest is made from small pellets of mud or clay and shaped like a bottle. Their nests usually occur in colonies under bridges, eves of buildings, culverts and cliffs.

Fairy Martin (Petrochelidon ariel), Alice Springs Sewage Ponds © Dorothy Latimer
Fairy Martin (Petrochelidon ariel), Alice Springs Sewage Ponds © Dorothy Latimer

The Fairy Martins have dark wings and a white underbody. The adults have an iridescent blue back, brown wings and tail, a rufous crown and nape (back of the neck), and a whitish rump. Both sexes are similar, with young birds being duller and more brown, a paler forehead and pale fringes to the back and wing feathers.

Fairy Martin (Petrochelidon ariel), Alice Springs, NT
Fairy Martin (Petrochelidon ariel), Alice Springs Sewage Ponds © Dorothy Latimer
Fairy Martin (Petrochelidon ariel), Alice Springs, NT
Fairy Martin (Petrochelidon ariel), Alice Springs Sewage Ponds © Dorothy Latimer
Fairy Martin (Petrochelidon ariel), Alice Springs Sewage Ponds © Dorothy Latimer
Fairy Martin (Petrochelidon ariel), Alice Springs Sewage Ponds © Dorothy Latimer

  • Scientific classification
  • Kingdom: Animalia
  • Phylum: Chordata
  • Subphylum: Vertebrata
  • Informal: Gnathostomata
  • Class: Aves
  • Order: Passeriformes
  • Suborder: Passeri
  • Informal: Passerida
  • Family: Hirundinidae
  • Subfamily: Hirundininae
  • Genus: Petrochelidon
  • Subgenus: infrageneric Petrochelidon
  • Species: Petrochelidon ariel

Footnote & References

  1. Petrochelidon (Petrochelidon) ariel (Gould, 1842), Fairy Martin, Atlas of Living Australia, https://bie.ala.org.au/species/Petrochelidon (Petrochelidon) ariel

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