Pacific Swallow

Pacific Swallow

Hirundo javanica

Silhouette: Matt Wilkins · PhyloPic

Daily sighting probability ~40% · Likely
at Naha

In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%

215 Verified sightings at Naha
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 Naha?

Likely

About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Pacific Swallow sighting in Naha on a given day, based on 215 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 18th most-seen of the 81 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

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

May and September

In those months about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Pacific Swallow in Naha on a given day, against about 20% in December, the lowest month. Those are among Naha's wettest months, with about 210 mm of rain a month against 60 mm in February.

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 Naha the best place to see a Pacific Swallow?

14th of 23

Of the 23 cities where we can rate Pacific Swallow sightings, Naha ranks 14th at about 40%. The best odds are in Taichung (Taiwan, about 70%), Kaohsiung (Taiwan, about 60%) and Manila (Philippines, about 50%).

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 Naha (215 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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