Mosque swallow in Hwange area (well out of range)

Yesterday whilst waiting for some people in an area called Mabale (11km from Hwange national park) I heard an unusual call from a pair of birds in a Teak tree above me. I immediately picked up my bins and found them sitting high in the top of the tree. At first they looked like Red-breasted Swallows except they had this white patch under their chins and when they flew they showed the white feathers under their wings that confirmed beyond doubt that they were in fact Mosque Swallows. According to the guide books I have they are not seen in these parts and this again was confirmed on a website called http://ebird.org.

There is a major seasonal river called the Gwaai that passes near there, it is a tributary of the Zambezi river and as such seems to act as something of an extension of the range of certain species. The Trumpeter hornbill is another species that is not shown in the books to occupy this area but we see them there too.

The Hwange Birder