Madagascar Swift

Madagascar Swift

Apus balstoni

Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Berenty Reserve

In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%

7 Verified sightings at Berenty Reserve From 2019 to 2026
234 In all 4 parks
November Best month
🌅 Crepuscular When it's spotted

About the Madagascar Swift

The Malagasy black swift (Apus balstoni) or Madagascar swift, is a species of swift in the family Apodidae. It is endemic to Madagascar and the Comoro Islands. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:11

Madagascar · 2012

© Peter Boesman · XC762590 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Flight call0:31

Madagascar · 2020

© Ken Behrens · XC623781 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Ranomafana National Park 🇲🇬 Madagascar
~20%
2 Mantadia National Park 🇲🇬 Madagascar
~10%
3 Berenty Reserve 🇲🇬 Madagascar
<5%
4 Ankarafantsika National Park 🇲🇬 Madagascar
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Antananarivo 🇲🇬 Madagascar
~10%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Madagascar Swift in Berenty Reserve?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Madagascar Swift sighting in Berenty Reserve on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 57th most-seen of the 63 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.

What time of day is best to see a Madagascar Swift?

Between 3 and 6 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Madagascar Swift sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.

Is Berenty Reserve the best place to see a Madagascar Swift?

3rd of 4

Of the 4 parks where we can rate Madagascar Swift sightings, Berenty Reserve ranks 3rd at under 5%. The best odds are in Ranomafana National Park (Madagascar, about 20%) and Mantadia National Park (Madagascar, about 10%).

Where does the Madagascar Swift sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Madagascar Swift is recorded against all the birds logged in Berenty Reserve (7 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.

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