Gray-breasted Martin

Gray-breasted Martin

Progne chalybea

Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~30% · Possible
at Buenos Aires

In 3 days ~70% in a week ~90%

5,895 Verified sightings at Buenos Aires
23,083 In all 68 parks From 2019 to 2026
January Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Gray-breasted Martin

The grey-breasted martin (Progne chalybea) is a large swallow from Central and South America. In 1760 the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the grey-breasted martin in the second volume of his Ornithologie based on a specimen collected in Cayenne, French Guiana. He used the French name L'hirondelle de Cayenne and the Latin name Hirundo Cayanensis. Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognised by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. The grey-breasted martin was subsequently described by the French polymath, the Comte de Buffon, in 1779 and by the English ornithologist John Latham in 1783. Latham used the English name "Chalybeate swallow" but neither Buffon nor Latham introduced a scientific name.

The German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin included the grey-breasted martin when he revised and expanded Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae in 1789. He placed it with the swallows in the genus Hirundo and coined the binomial name Hirundo chalybea. The specific epithet chalybea is Latin meaning "steely". The grey-breasted martin is now one of nine species placed in the... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Flight call0:05

Brazil · 2026

© JAYRSON ARAUJO DE OLIVEIRA · XC1150896 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:25

French Guiana · 2024

© Tristan Guillebot de Nerville · XC1150328 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song0:10

Venezuela · 2023

© Francisco contreras · XC838862 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Soberanía National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
~50%
2 Machalilla National Park 🇪🇨 Ecuador
~40%
3 San Lorenzo Protected Forest 🇵🇦 Panama
~40%
4 Parque Natural Metropolitano 🇵🇦 Panama
~30%
5 Yasuní National Park 🇪🇨 Ecuador
~30%
6 Tortuguero National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~30%
7 Las Baulas Marine National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~30%
8 Iguaçu National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~30%
9 Brownsberg Nature Park 🇸🇷 Suriname
~30%
10 Iguazú National Park 🇦🇷 Argentina
~30%
11 Piedras Blancas National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~20%
12 Lago de Yojoa 🇭🇳 Honduras
~20%
13 Coiba National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
~20%
14 Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve 🇪🇨 Ecuador
~20%
15 Chapada dos Guimarães National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~20%
16 Masaya Volcano National Park 🇳🇮 Nicaragua
~20%
17 Serra dos Órgãos National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~20%
18 El Palmar National Park 🇦🇷 Argentina
~20%
19 Parque Estadual Encontro das Águas 🇧🇷 Brazil
~20%
20 Anavilhanas National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~20%
21 Iberá National Park 🇦🇷 Argentina
~20%
22 Bastimentos Island National Marine Park 🇵🇦 Panama
~20%
23 Caroni Swamp 🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago
~20%
24 Cerro Azul Meámbar National Park 🇭🇳 Honduras
~10%
25 Chagres National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
~10%
26 Serra da Canastra National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~10%
27 Tayrona National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
~10%
28 La Amistad International Park (Panama) 🇵🇦 Panama
~10%
29 Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
30 Marino Ballena National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
31 Carara National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
32 Henri Pittier National Park 🇻🇪 Venezuela
~10%
33 Calakmul Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
~10%
34 El Impenetrable National Park 🇦🇷 Argentina
~10%
35 Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
~10%
36 Corcovado National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
37 Emas National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~10%
38 Cahuita National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
39 Braulio Carrillo National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
40 Cañón del Sumidero National Park 🇲🇽 Mexico
~10%
41 Chapada Diamantina National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~10%
42 Palo Verde National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
43 Manuel Antonio National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
44 Rincón de la Vieja National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
45 Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
~10%
46 Tikal National Park 🇬🇹 Guatemala
~10%
47 Ostional Wildlife Refuge 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
48 Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
49 Manu National Park 🇵🇪 Peru
<5%
50 Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
<5%
51 Arenal Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
52 Biotopo Cerro Cahuí 🇬🇹 Guatemala
<5%
53 Tenorio Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
54 Amacayacu National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
<5%
55 Sierra de la Macarena National Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
<5%
56 Santa Rosa National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
57 Darién National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
58 Tambopata National Reserve 🇵🇪 Peru
<5%
59 Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
60 Itatiaia National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
61 Celestún Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
<5%
62 Tijuca National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
63 Poás Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
64 Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
65 Farallones de Cali National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
<5%
66 Los Quetzales National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
67 Chirripó National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
68 Volcán Barú National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Belém 🇧🇷 Brazil
~50%
2 São Luís 🇧🇷 Brazil
~50%
3 Guayaquil 🇪🇨 Ecuador
~40%
4 Fortaleza 🇧🇷 Brazil
~40%
5 Panama City 🇵🇦 Panama
~30%
6 Buenos Aires 🇦🇷 Argentina
~30%
7 Natal 🇧🇷 Brazil
~30%
8 Asuncion 🇵🇾 Paraguay
~30%
9 Salvador 🇧🇷 Brazil
~30%
10 San Salvador 🇸🇻 El Salvador
~30%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Gray-breasted Martin in Buenos Aires?

Possible

About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Gray-breasted Martin sighting in Buenos Aires on a given day, based on 5,895 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 35th most-seen of the 274 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Gray-breasted Martin in Buenos Aires?

January and November

In those months about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Gray-breasted Martin in Buenos Aires on a given day, against under 5% in May to July, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Gray-breasted Martin?

Between 8 and 11 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Gray-breasted Martin sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Buenos Aires the best place to see a Gray-breasted Martin?

6th of 43

Of the 43 cities where we can rate Gray-breasted Martin sightings, Buenos Aires ranks 6th at about 30%. The best odds are in Belém (Brazil, about 50%), São Luís (Brazil, about 50%) and Guayaquil (Ecuador, about 40%).

Where does the Gray-breasted Martin sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Gray-breasted Martin is recorded against all the birds logged in Buenos Aires (5,895 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.

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