Notiochelidon cyanoleuca
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%
The blue-and-white swallow (Pygochelidon cyanoleuca) is a passerine bird that breeds from Nicaragua south throughout South America, except in the deserts and the Amazon Basin. The southern race is migratory, wintering as far north as Trinidad, where it is a regular visitor. The nominate northern race may have bred on that island.
The blue-and-white swallow was first formally described as Hirundo cyanoleuca by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot in 1817, based on a specimen he believed to be from Paraguay. The scientific name has the same meaning as the English common name.
This species was formerly placed in the genus Notiochelidon. It was moved to the resurrected genus Pygochelidon based on a phylogenetic study published in 2005. Three subspecies are recognised: It has dark blue upperparts and white underparts, and its underwings and the... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arequipa | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 2 | Belo Horizonte | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 3 | San José | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 4 | Niterói | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 5 | Cochabamba | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | |
| 6 | São Paulo | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 7 | Campinas | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 8 | Cali | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 9 | Vitória | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 10 | Santos | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
Likely
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Blue-and-white Swallow sighting in Rio de Janeiro on a given day, based on 2,190 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 17th most-seen of the 278 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July and October–November
In those months about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Blue-and-white Swallow in Rio de Janeiro on a given day, against about 50% in August–September and December–June, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Blue-and-white 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.
12th of 33
Of the 33 cities where we can rate Blue-and-white Swallow sightings, Rio de Janeiro ranks 12th at about 50%. The best odds are in Arequipa (Peru, about 80%), Belo Horizonte (Brazil, about 70%) and San José (Costa Rica, about 70%).
Same family: Hirundinidae
The closest relatives of the Blue-and-white Swallow that you can see in Rio de Janeiro (family Hirundinidae, Swallows and Martins) are Southern Rough-winged Swallow (about 10%), Gray-breasted Martin (about 10%) and Brown-chested Martin (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Blue-and-white Swallow is recorded against all the birds logged in Rio de Janeiro (2,190 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.
