Cecropis daurica
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The eastern red-rumped swallow (Cecropis daurica) is a small passerine bird in the swallow family Hirundinidae. It is found in open, often hilly, areas with clearings and cultivation across eastern and southeastern Asia to north-eastern India and Taiwan.
The European red-rumped swallow and the African red-rumped swallow were formerly considered as subspecies of the eastern red-rumped swallow. The eastern red-rumped swallow was formally described in 1769 by the Finnish-Swedish clergyman, explorer and natural scientist Erik Laxmann as Hirundo daurica, using a specimen from Mount Schlangen, near Zmeinogorsk, Russia. It is now placed in the genus Cecropis created by German scientist Friedrich Boie in 1826. Boie's genus name Cecropis is from the Ancient Greek for an Athenian woman. The specific daurica is derived from Dauria, a mountainous region to the east of Lake Baikal in Russia. The alternative genus Hirundo is the Latin word for "swallow". Some authorities consider the West African swallow to be a subspecies of the red-rumped swallow.
Eight subspecies are recognised: Wikipedia →
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report an Eastern Red-rumped Swallow sighting in Kolkata on a given day, based on 272 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 113th most-seen of the 247 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January to March
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report an Eastern Red-rumped Swallow in Kolkata on a given day, against under 5% in April to December, the lowest months. Those are among Kolkata's driest months, with about 20 mm of rain a month against 330 mm in July.
Between 2 and 5 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Eastern Red-rumped Swallow sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
64th of 89
Of the 89 cities where we can rate Eastern Red-rumped Swallow sightings, Kolkata ranks 64th at under 5%. The best odds are in Tainan (Taiwan, about 60%), Harbin (China, about 30%) and Thrissur (India, about 30%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Eastern Red-rumped Swallow is recorded against all the birds logged in Kolkata (272 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.
