Wikipedia:Today's featured article/October 31, 2022

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Pale crag martin

The pale crag martin (Ptyonoprogne obsoleta) is a bird in the swallow family that is resident in northern Africa and in southwestern Asia. It breeds in mountains, other rocky areas and towns. It is 12–13 cm (4.5–5 in) long, with mainly brown plumage, and paler below, with white "windows" on the tail that show as it hunts along cliffs for flying insects. It builds a deep bowl or quarter-sphere nest on a flat surface, vertical rock face or wall, made with mud and lined with grass or feathers. It is normally a solitary breeder, but small groups may sometimes nest close together. The two or three eggs of a typical clutch are white with brown and grey blotches, and are incubated by both adults for 16–19 days prior to hatching. Both parents then feed the chicks. Fledging takes another 22–24 days. With a large range and apparently increasing population, this species faces no major threats. It is assessed as a least-concern species on the IUCN Red List. (This article is part of a featured topic: Crag martins.)

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