Phedina borbonica
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
The Mascarene martin or Mascarene swallow (Phedina borbonica) is a passerine bird in the swallow family that breeds in Madagascar and in the Mascarene Islands. The nominate subspecies occurs on Mauritius and Réunion and has never been found away from the Mascarene Islands, but the smaller Madagascan subspecies, P. b. madagascariensis, is migratory and has been recorded wintering in East Africa or wandering to other Indian Ocean islands.
The Mascarene martin is a small swallow that has grey-brown underparts becoming white on the throat and lower abdomen, dark grey-brown upperparts and a slightly forked tail. The underparts are heavily streaked with black. It nests in small colonies anywhere with suitably sheltered sites for constructing a nest, such as ledges, buildings, tunnels, caves or amongst rocks. The nest is a shallow cup of twigs and other plant material, and the normal clutch is two or three brown-spotted white eggs. The incubation and fledging times are unknown. The Mascarene martin has a heavy flight with slow wingbeats interspersed with glides, and frequently perches on wires. It feeds on insects in flight, often hunting low over the ground or vegetation. In eastern Africa, open habitats such as deforested areas are frequently used for hunting. A number of internal and external parasites have been detected in this species.
Tropical cyclones can adversely affect populations on the smaller islands, but the Mascarene martin is a locally common bird with an apparently stable population and is classed as a species of Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Its legal protection ranges from none on the French overseas department of Réunion to a status on Mauritius as a "species of wildlife in respect of which more severe penalties are provided". Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mantadia National Park | 🇲🇬 Madagascar | |
| 2 | Ranomafana National Park | 🇲🇬 Madagascar | |
| 3 | Ankarafantsika National Park | 🇲🇬 Madagascar | |
| 4 | Berenty Reserve | 🇲🇬 Madagascar |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Antananarivo | 🇲🇬 Madagascar |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Mascarene Martin sighting in Ankarafantsika National Park on a given day, based on 56 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 57th most-seen of the 83 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June, September and November–December
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Mascarene Martin in Ankarafantsika National Park on a given day, against about 10% in April, July–August and October, the lowest months. January–March and May have too few records to rate.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Mascarene Martin sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 4
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Mascarene Martin sightings, Ankarafantsika National Park ranks 3rd at about 10%. The best odds are in Mantadia National Park (Madagascar, about 40%) and Ranomafana National Park (Madagascar, about 40%).
Same order: Passeriformes
The closest relatives of the Mascarene Martin that you can see in Ankarafantsika National Park (order Passeriformes, Perching Birds) are Crested Drongo (about 90%), Madagascar Paradise-Flycatcher (about 90%) and Madagascar Bulbul (about 90%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Mascarene Martin is recorded against all the birds logged in Ankarafantsika National Park (56 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
