Southern Martin

Southern Martin

Progne elegans

Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~30% · Possible
at Mendoza

In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%

129 Verified sightings at Mendoza
439 In all 6 parks From 2019 to 2026
December Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Southern Martin

The southern martin (Progne elegans) is a species of bird in the family Hirundinidae, the swallows and martins. One source states that it is known in every mainland South American country except Colombia, Guyana, and Venezuela, and there are undocumented sight records in those three countries. It has occurred as a vagrant in the Malvinas/Falkland Islands and the U.S. state of Florida

The southern martin was originally described with its present binomial Progne elegans. For much of the twentieth century many authors treated the southern martin and Peruvian martin (P. murphyi) as conspecific with the Galapagos martin (P. modesta).

The southern martin is monotypic. The southern martin is 17 to 20 cm (6.7 to 7.9 in) long. The sexes are dimorphic though both have a deeply forked tail. Adult males are almost entirely glossy steel-blue with blacker wings and tail. Females have duller steel-blue upperparts than males. Their underparts are mostly dusky brown with paler feather edges that give a scaly appearance; their undertail coverts are white with dusky streaks. Juveniles resemble adult females.

Sources do not... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Song0:05

Brazil · 2026

© JAYRSON ARAUJO DE OLIVEIRA · XC1186313 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:14

Argentina · 2017

© Étienne Leroy · XC396792 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:34

Argentina · 2013

© Peter Boesman · XC273178 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Península Valdés 🇦🇷 Argentina
~50%
2 Amboró National Park 🇧🇴 Bolivia
<5%
3 Amacayacu National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
<5%
4 Anavilhanas National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
5 Yasuní National Park 🇪🇨 Ecuador
<5%
6 Soberanía National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Mendoza 🇦🇷 Argentina
~30%
2 Cordoba 🇦🇷 Argentina
~20%
3 Buenos Aires 🇦🇷 Argentina
<5%
4 Montevideo 🇺🇾 Uruguay
<5%
5 Asuncion 🇵🇾 Paraguay
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Southern Martin in Mendoza?

Possible

About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Martin sighting in Mendoza on a given day, based on 129 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 24th most-seen of the 69 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.

When is the best time to see a Southern Martin in Mendoza?

November and December

In those months about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Martin in Mendoza on a given day, against about 10% in March to August, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Southern Martin?

Between 8 and 11 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Southern Martin sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Mendoza the best place to see a Southern Martin?

Yes

Of the 5 cities where we can rate Southern Martin sightings, Mendoza has the highest daily chance: about 30%. Next come Cordoba (Argentina, about 20%) and Buenos Aires (Argentina, under 5%).

Where does the Southern Martin sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Southern Martin is recorded against all the birds logged in Mendoza (129 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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