Pacific Swallow

Pacific Swallow

Hirundo javanica

Silhouette: Matt Wilkins · PhyloPic

Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
at Johor Bahru

In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%

26 Verified sightings at Johor Bahru
8,724 In all 18 parks From 2019 to 2026
May Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Pacific Swallow

The Pacific swallow (Hirundo javanica) is a small passerine bird in the swallow family Hirundinidae. It breeds in tropical southern Asia and the islands of the south Pacific. It is resident apart from some local seasonal movements. This bird is associated with coasts, but is increasingly spreading to forested uplands. It was formerly treated as conspecific with hill swallow, the welcome swallow and the Tahiti swallow.

The Pacific swallow was formally described and illustrated in 1789 by the Swedish naturalist Anders Sparrman based on a specimen collected on the Indonesian island of Java. He coined the binomial name Hirundo javanica. The Pacific swallow was formerly considered to be conspecific with the Tahiti swallow (Hirundo tahitica). The species were split based on the differences in morphology. Wikipedia →

Sounds

Recording0:21

Indonesia · 2022

© Meynard Dinesh · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~60%
2 Raja Ampat 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~60%
3 Komodo National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~60%
4 Danum Valley Conservation Area 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~60%
5 Sepilok 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~50%
6 Tanjung Puting National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~50%
7 Bako National Park 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~40%
8 Khao Sok National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
~40%
9 Taman Negara National Park 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~40%
10 Kerinci Seblat National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~40%
11 Gunung Leuser National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~40%
12 Taroko National Park 🇹🇼 Taiwan
~30%
13 Kinabalu Park 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~30%
14 Way Kambas National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~30%
15 Tangkoko Nature Reserve 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~20%
16 Bali Barat National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~10%
17 Khao Luang National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
~10%
18 Kaeng Krachan National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Taichung 🇹🇼 Taiwan
~70%
2 Kaohsiung 🇹🇼 Taiwan
~60%
3 Manila 🇵🇭 Philippines
~50%
4 Denpasar 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~50%
5 Davao City 🇵🇭 Philippines
~50%
6 Tainan 🇹🇼 Taiwan
~50%
7 Kuching 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~50%
8 Makassar 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~50%
9 Yogyakarta 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~50%
10 Jakarta 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~40%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Pacific Swallow in Johor Bahru?

Possible

About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Pacific Swallow sighting in Johor Bahru on a given day, based on 26 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 19th most-seen of the 60 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Pacific Swallow in Johor Bahru?

May and July

In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Pacific Swallow in Johor Bahru on a given day, against about 10% in June, August and December–January, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Pacific Swallow?

Between 3 and 6 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Pacific Swallow 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 Johor Bahru the best place to see a Pacific Swallow?

18th of 23

Of the 23 cities where we can rate Pacific Swallow sightings, Johor Bahru ranks 18th at about 20%. The best odds are in Taichung (Taiwan, about 70%), Kaohsiung (Taiwan, about 60%) and Manila (Philippines, about 50%).

Which relatives of the Pacific Swallow live in Johor Bahru?

Same order: Passeriformes

The closest relatives of the Pacific Swallow that you can see in Johor Bahru (order Passeriformes, Perching Birds) are House Crow (about 70%), Javan Myna (about 70%) and Asian Glossy Starling (about 60%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Pacific Swallow sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Pacific Swallow is recorded against all the birds logged in Johor Bahru (26 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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