Petrochelidon ariel
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%
The fairy martin (Petrochelidon ariel) is a member of the swallow family of passerine birds which breeds in Australia. It is migratory wintering through most of Australia, with some birds reaching New Guinea and Indonesia. It is increasingly a wanderer to New Zealand, where it may have bred. This species is frequently placed in the genus Hirundo as Hirundo ariel.
This is a bird of open country near water, and is usually seen near its nest sites in cliffs, culverts or bridges. The fairy martin is dumpy and square tailed. It averages 12 centimetres (4.7 in) long and weighs 11 grams (0.39 oz). The adult has an iridescent blue back, brown wings and tail, a rufous crown and nape, and a whitish rump. The underparts are dull white. The sexes are similar, but young birds are duller and browner, with a paler forehead and pale fringes to the back and wing feathers.
This species can be distinguished from other Australian swallows by its pale rump. The most similar species, the tree martin, has a shallowly forked tail and blue-black head and nape. The call of this vocal swallow is a chrrrr and the song is a high-pitched twitter. The vocalizations are higher pitched than those... Wikipedia →
Call0:27
Australia · 2022
© Marc Anderson · XC816326 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
Call0:10
Australia · 2009
© Mark Harper · XC40563 · CC BY-NC-ND 2.5
Recording0:21
Australia · 2018
© deborod · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Nitmiluk National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Daintree National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 4 | Kosciuszko National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 5 | Flinders Ranges National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 6 | Ningaloo Marine Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 7 | Litchfield National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 8 | Great Otway National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 9 | Booderee National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 10 | Wilsons Promontory National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 11 | Royal National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 12 | Hattah-Kulkyne National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 13 | Blue Mountains National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 14 | Lamington National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Fairy Martin sighting in Great Otway National Park on a given day, based on 41 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 130th most-seen of the 175 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Fairy Martin in Great Otway 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 Fairy Martin sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
8th of 14
Of the 14 parks where we can rate Fairy Martin sightings, Great Otway National Park ranks 8th at under 5%. The best odds are in Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park (Australia, about 40%), Nitmiluk National Park (Australia, about 10%) and Daintree National Park (Australia, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Fairy Martin is recorded against all the birds logged in Great Otway National Park (41 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.
