Pelopidas lyelli
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
Pelopidas lyelli, the Lyell's swift, is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. It is found in New South Wales, the Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia, as well as Irian Jaya, Maluku, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.
The wingspan is about 30 mm. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Litchfield National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Kakadu National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Lyell's Swift sighting in Kakadu National Park on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 57th most-seen of the 76 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April to June
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Lyell's Swift in Kakadu National Park on a given day, against under 5% in August to March, the lowest months. Those are among Kakadu National Park's driest months, with about 20 mm of rain a month against 350 mm in January.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Lyell's Swift sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 2
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Lyell's Swift sightings, Kakadu National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Litchfield National Park (Australia, about 20%).
Same family: Hesperiidae
The closest relatives of the Lyell's Swift that you can see in Kakadu National Park (family Hesperiidae, Skippers) are Bright-Orange Darter (about 10%) and Pale Palm Dart (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Lyell's Swift is recorded against all the insects logged in Kakadu National Park (6 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.
