Crag Martin - Distribution and Habitat

Distribution and Habitat

These are exclusively Old World species. The Rock Martin breeds throughout Africa and through the Middle East as far as Afghanistan and Pakistan, and is replaced by the Dusky Crag Martin further east in India and Indochina. The Eurasian Crag Martin breeds from Iberia and northwesternmost Africa through southern Europe, the Persian Gulf and the Himalayas to southwestern and northeastern China. Northern populations of the Eurasian Crag Martin are migratory, with European birds wintering in north Africa, Senegal, Ethiopia and the Nile Valley, and Asian breeders going to southern China, the Indian subcontinent and the Middle East. Some European birds stay north of the Mediterranean, and, like populations in warmer areas such as India, Turkey and Cyprus, just move to lower ground after breeding. The Dusky Crag Martin and Rock are largely resident apart from local movements after breeding, when many birds descend to lower altitudes, although some pale northern Rock Martins from North African and southern Arabian may winter further south alongside the local subspecies in Ethiopia, Mali and Mauritania.

The crag martins mainly breed on dry, warm and sheltered cliffs in mountainous areas with crags and gorges, and the Eurasian Crag Martin reaches 5,000 m (16,500 ft) in Central Asia. The use of buildings as artificial cliffs has enabled breeding expansion into lowland areas, particularly for the two tropical species, and the Rock Martin breeds in desert towns. In South Asia, migrant Eurasian birds sometimes join with flocks of the Dusky Crag Martin and roost communally on ledges of cliffs or buildings in winter.