Artamus fuscus
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%
The ashy woodswallow (Artamus fuscus), sometimes also called the ashy swallow-shrike, is a woodswallow which is found in south Asia. Like other woodswallows, it has a short curved bill, a short square tail and long wings. It is usually seen perched in groups, high on powerlines, tall bare trees and most often in areas with a predominance of tall palm trees.
This stocky woodswallow has an ashy grey upperparts with a darker head and a narrow pale band on the rump. The underside is pinkish grey and the short slaty black tail is tipped in white. The finch-like bill is silvery. In flight the long wing looks very broad at the base giving it a very triangular outline. The first primary is very short. The legs are short and the birds usually perch on high vantage points from which they make aerial sallies. There are no geographic variations in plumage and no subspecies have been designated.
Males and females are indistinguishable in the field, however an old report suggests that the sexes differ in the colour of the inside of the mouth. Young birds appear barred on the underside. Woodswallows are found in a range of habitats from the plains... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Khao Yai National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 2 | Sundarbans National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 3 | Kaeng Krachan National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 4 | Cat Tien National Park | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 5 | Manas National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 6 | Royal Manas National Park | 🇧🇹 Bhutan | |
| 7 | Nagarhole National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 8 | Wilpattu National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 9 | Chitwan National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 10 | Periyar National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 11 | Doi Inthanon National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 12 | Kaziranga National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 13 | Bandipur National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 14 | Royal Bardia National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 15 | Mudumalai National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 16 | Sinharaja Forest Reserve | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 17 | Jim Corbett National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 18 | Yala National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 19 | Minneriya National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 20 | Udawalawe National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 21 | Satpura National Park | 🇮🇳 India |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report an Ashy Woodswallow sighting in Minneriya National Park on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 147th most-seen of the 155 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 an Ashy Woodswallow in Minneriya National Park on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Ashy Woodswallow sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
19th of 21
Of the 21 parks where we can rate Ashy Woodswallow sightings, Minneriya National Park ranks 19th at under 5%. The best odds are in Khao Yai National Park (Thailand, about 50%), Sundarbans National Park (India, about 40%) and Kaeng Krachan National Park (Thailand, about 30%). All parks ranked.
Same order: Passeriformes
The closest relatives of the Ashy Woodswallow that you can see in Minneriya National Park (order Passeriformes, Perching Birds) are Indian Robin (about 50%), Purple-rumped Sunbird (about 50%) and Black-hooded Oriole (about 40%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Ashy Woodswallow is recorded against all the birds logged in Minneriya National Park (7 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.
