Alopochelidon fucata
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
The tawny-headed swallow (Alopochelidon fucata) is a species of bird in the family Hirundinidae. It is the only species placed in the genus Alopochelidon. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Falkland Islands, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela, where its natural habitats are dry savanna and subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland.
The tawny-headed swallow was formally described as Hirundo fucata by the Dutch zoologist Coenraad Temminck in 1822. The type locality is São Paulo in Brazil. The tawny-headed swallow is now the only species placed in the genus Alopochelidon that was introduced in 1903 by Robert Ridgway. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek alōpos meaning "fox-like" (alōpēx means "fox") with khelidōn meaning "swallow". The specific epithet is from Latin fucatus meaning "painted". Phylogenetic analysis has shown that tawny-headed swallow is most closely related to the swallows in the genus Orochelidon.
Although no subspecies of the tawny-headed swallow are recognised, it differs slightly depending on where it occurs. A tawny-headed swallow that occurs in the southern part of its range will usually... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Serra da Canastra National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 2 | Emas National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 3 | Iberá National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 4 | Iguaçu National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 5 | Iguazú National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rosario | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 2 | Cordoba | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 3 | Asuncion | 🇵🇾 Paraguay | |
| 4 | Buenos Aires | 🇦🇷 Argentina |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Tawny-headed Swallow sighting in Iguaçu National Park on a given day, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 331st most-seen of the 346 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Tawny-headed Swallow in Iguaçu National Park on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Tawny-headed Swallow sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
4th of 5
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Tawny-headed Swallow sightings, Iguaçu National Park ranks 4th at under 5%. The best odds are in Serra da Canastra National Park (Brazil, about 30%), Emas National Park (Brazil, about 20%) and Iberá National Park (Argentina, under 5%).
Same family: Hirundinidae
The closest relatives of the Tawny-headed Swallow that you can see in Iguaçu National Park (family Hirundinidae, Swallows and Martins) are Gray-breasted Martin (about 30%), Blue-and-white Swallow (about 10%) and Southern Rough-winged Swallow (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Tawny-headed Swallow is recorded against all the birds logged in Iguaçu National Park (8 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
