White-banded Swallow

The White-banded Swallow is a sleek, black-and-white aerialist found year-round in Ecuador’s eastern lowlands, where it inhabits forested river corridors and oxbow lakes below about 800 meters. It is locally uncommon but regularly seen skimming low over water in fast, zigzagging flight, feeding on insects and occasionally perching on snags or boulders near the shoreline. Globally listed as Least Concern, its population is stable across a broad Amazonian range, though it is sensitive to wetland degradation and rarely occurs far from intact riparian habitats. Unlike many swallows, it nests in burrows dug into riverbanks rather than using artificial cavities, a behavior that reflects its strong ecological ties to undisturbed freshwater systems.