(cecropis daurica)
The Red-rumped Swallow is a rare visitor to Scotland - Birds of Scotland reports 37 sightings of 40 birds up to 2004 although sightings have become more frequent since then. The bird photographed here was a personal find at the remote location of Talisker Bay on the Isle of Skye.
Talisker Bay is one of my most favourite spots in Scotland, an isolated rugged bay at the end of a winding single track road with towering sea cliffs and a cascading waterfall. At low tide there is an extensive stretch of sand which because it originates from basalt rock is black in colour. In June the glen is usually alive with juvenile Northern Wheatears, Willow Warblers and Twite. On the occasion of this visit I was stunned to realise that the Swallow which I was trying to photograph was not the usual Barn Swallow but a Red-rumped Swallow. I was even more surprised to re-find the bird some two hours later about a mile away from the original sighting.

ADDENDUM - A further twist to the tail. This bird was subsequently identified from these photographs as one of the subspecies of Red-rumped Swallow known as Asian Red-rumped Swallow (cecropis daurica daurica) or (cecropis daurica japonica) and as such is postulated as the 1st British record. Full article in September 2011 issue of Birding World magazine. You can compare this bird with photographs of the 'usual' western Red-rumped Swallow (cecropis daurica rufula) taken in Turkey at https://pbase.com/ianfulton/turk_redrumpedswallow .

SECOND ADDENDUM - Winner of the British Birds Carl Zeiss Award 2012.
The Carl Zeiss Award, established in 1991, is awarded for a photograph, or set of photographs, judged to have been most instructive for the BBRC’s assessment of difficult species (or subspecies) during the previous year. This year’s winner was Ian Fulton, with his images of an Asian Red-rumped Swallow Cecropis daurica daurica/japonica at Talisker, Skye, in June 2011.