Large viewInitially I thought I was looking at a mosque swallow until I got to the "darkroom" and saw the guineafowl feather the bird was using as a disguise! All fell into place!

The pair was patiently flying around overhead waiting for me to vacate the spot I occupied on the road. It was above a small culvert where they were nesting and the feather was meant to serve as lining material.
Red-breasted swallows can be distinguished from mosque swallows by the slightly longer tail streamers, red throat and the dark crown that extends to below the eye. These birds feed on insects caught in the air. Their flight is slow and buoyant, often allowing a photographer great shots on the wing.
The monogamous
Hirundo semirufa may frequently be found nesting in surprisingly small pipe culverts, returning to the same nest site year after year. The nesting birds roost in the nest at night. At the end of the breeding season the nest becomes a little crowded with the parents, the first brood of fledglings together with a second brood of naked young all roosting together.
Adult longevity is about 6 years.