Artamus cyanopterus
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
The dusky woodswallow (Artamus cyanopterus) is a bird species of forests and woodlands in temperate and subtropical regions, extending into tropical areas around the Atherton Tableland, in eastern and southern Australia.
The global population of the species has as yet not been formally confirmed, but it has been officially rated in the range of 'Least Concern', according to the BirdLife International in 2004. As such, the bird could be described as common in its local habitat.
The name "woodswallow" is a misnomer as they are not closely related to true swallows. Instead, they belong to the family Artamidae, which also includes butcherbirds, currawongs and the Australian magpie. The dusky woodswallow was first described by the English ornithologist John Latham in 1801 with the binomial name Loxia cyanoptera. Its specific epithet is derived from the Ancient Greek words cyanos 'blue' and pteron 'wing'.
The dusky woodswallow is medium-sized and swallow-like, with a dark brown hue, but there have been instances where the bird has appeared grey. The birds have a black patch in front of the eyes, and grey (sometimes also black) wings with white streaks on... Wikipedia →
Call0:41
Australia · 2019
© Marc Anderson · XC674052 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
Song0:26
Australia · 2016
© Greg McLachlan · XC354593 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Recording0:11
Australia · 2025
© Clare Jacobson · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kosciuszko National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Flinders Chase | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Maria Island National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 4 | Flinders Ranges National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 5 | Great Otway National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 6 | Grampians National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 7 | Booderee National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 8 | Rakiura National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 9 | Blue Mountains National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 10 | Hattah-Kulkyne National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 11 | Wilsons Promontory National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 12 | Royal National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 13 | Lamington National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Adelaide Zoo | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Gorge Wildlife Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Dusky Woodswallow sighting in Flinders Chase on a given day, based on 22 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 39th most-seen of the 68 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Dusky Woodswallow in Flinders Chase on a given day, against about 10% in March, May, July, September and November–December, the lowest months. August has too few records to rate.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Dusky Woodswallow sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 13 parks where we can rate Dusky Woodswallow sightings, Flinders Chase ranks 2nd at about 20%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Kosciuszko National Park (Australia, about 20%).
Same order: Passeriformes
The closest relatives of the Dusky Woodswallow that you can see in Flinders Chase (order Passeriformes, Perching Birds) are Superb Fairywren (about 90%), Silvereye (about 70%) and Grey Fantail (about 70%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Dusky Woodswallow is recorded against all the birds logged in Flinders Chase (22 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.
