Riparia congica
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
The Congo martin or Congo sand martin (Riparia congica) is a small passerine bird in the swallow family. It occurs only along the Congo River and its tributary, the Ubangi. It is fairly abundant within its restricted range.
The habitat requirement of this non-migratory species is forested rivers with sandbanks for breeding. The Congo martin nests in colonies during February and March, with each pair excavating a tunnel in a sandbank about 1 m above the river. The nest itself is at the end of the tunnel. Little is known of the breeding biology, although it is probably similar to that of the sand martin. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brazzaville | 🇨🇬 Republic of the Congo |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Congo Martin sighting in Brazzaville on a given day, based on 28 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 34th most-seen of the 82 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April
In that month about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Congo Martin in Brazzaville on a given day, against about 20% in July to February, the lowest months. That is one of Brazzaville's wettest months, with about 210 mm of rain against almost none in July. June has too few records to rate.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Congo Martin sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Brazzaville, in our data
Brazzaville is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Congo Martin sightings: about 30% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Hirundinidae
The closest relatives of the Congo Martin that you can see in Brazzaville (family Hirundinidae, Swallows and Martins) are Lesser Striped-Swallow (about 40%) and Angola Swallow (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Congo Martin is recorded against all the birds logged in Brazzaville (28 verified sightings), 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.
