The 12 cm long Brown-throated Martin is brown above and white or pale brown below.

The Brown-throated Martin is colonial in its nesting habits, with many pairs breeding close together, according to available space.

Its brown back, small size and quicker, jerkier flight separate Brown-throated Martin at once from most other members of the swallow family.

Brown-throated Martin - Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds.

It was formerly considered a subspecies of the "Plain Martin", since renamed the Brown-throated Martin.

Riparia paludicola (Brown-throated Martin)

The twittering song of Brown-throated Martin is continuous when the birds are on the wing, and becomes a conversational undertone after they have settled in the roost.

The Brown-throated Martin or Brown-throated Sand Martin (Riparia paludicola) is a small passerine bird in the swallow family.

The fast flight of the Brown-throated Sand Martin also makes identification more difficult.

It is paler on the throat, breast and underwings than the all-dark form of the Brown-throated Sand Martin.

The Brown-throated Sand Martin has similar structure and plumage colour to the Mascarene Martin, but has plain, unstreaked underparts.

The Brown-throated Martin or Brown-throated Sand Martin (Riparia paludicola) is a small passerine bird in the swallow family.

Although only slightly larger than the Sand Martin and Brown-throated Sand Martin, the Rock Martin is more robust, has white tail spots, and lacks a breast band.

Even the smaller Ptyonoprogne species are slightly larger and more robust than the Sand Martin and Brown-throated Sand Martin, and have the white tail spots which are absent from the Riparia martins.

It is the largest Riparia species It is easily distinguished from the smaller Sand Martin by its square tail and white on the underwings, and from the Brown-throated Sand Martin by its white throat.

The Brown-throated Martin or Brown-throated Sand Martin (Riparia paludicola) is a small passerine bird in the swallow family.

PLAIN SAND MARTIN Riparia paludicola.

HIRUNDINIDAE Riparia paludicola (Brown-throated Martin)