Description:

Small, contrastingly marked and very much like common sand martin. Upperparts are paler and greyer, the breast-band is less clearly defined, the throat is greyish-white and grades into the pale greyish-brown ear-coverts, and the tail-fork is shallower. Juvenile has stronger contrast between breast and belly.

Distribution:

Scarce summer visitor limited to the southern parts of Diamer district. Mainly occurs in open country, often near water with vegetation and reeds; in arid steppe, up to 3500m. Roosts usually in reedbeds.

Behavior:

Forages in groups and often mixes with other swallows, martins and swifts. Fast, agile and fluttery flight, with shallow and rapid wingbeats. Mostly feeds on insects, some spiders. Diet varies within and between years and sites, depending on local availability of insects and other invertebrates.

Photo Gallery:

Range & Occurrence:

Resident Species

Summer Breeder

Winter Visitor

Passage Migrant

Distribution Map of Pale Sand Martin in Gilgit-Baltistan (Status: )

Seasonal Occurrence of Pale Sand Martin

Resources:

Birds of Pakistan: Helm Field Guides (R. Grimmett & T. Inskipp)
The Birds of Pakistan (T. J. Roberts)
Birds of the Indian Subcontinent (C. Inskipp, R. Grimmett & T. Inskipp)
Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide (P. Rasmussen & J. Anderton)
Birds of India: Collins Field Guide (N. Arlott)
Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan (S. Ali & S. D. Ripley)
Handbook of the Birds of the World (https://www.hbw.com)
The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World, 6th Edition
iNaturalist BoGB (inaturalist.org/projects/birds-of-gilgit-baltistan)
Birds of Gilgit-Baltistan (http://fb.me/birdsgb)

*Gallery images on this page are shared from flickr.com, and are copyrighted to their respective creators or owners.