Hirundo neoxena
Silhouette: Matt Wilkins · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~70% in a week ~90%
The welcome swallow (Hirundo neoxena) is a small passerine bird in the swallow family Hirundinidae that is native to Australia and nearby islands. It has self-introduced into New Zealand in the middle of the twentieth century. It is very similar to the Pacific swallow with which it is often considered conspecific.
This species breeds in southern and eastern Australia in a variety of habitats, mostly in open areas, man-made clearings or urban environments, but not desert or dense forest. Eastern populations are largely migratory, wintering in northern Australia. Western birds and those in New Zealand are mainly sedentary.
The welcome swallow was first described in 1842 by John Gould in his The Birds of Australia as a member of the genus Hirundo, but the first publication is often incorrectly given as in the Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. Both its species name and common name refer to people welcoming its return as a herald of spring in southern parts of Australia.
The welcome swallow is a small fast-flying bird. Its flying style is circular in pattern with swift darting motions. It has graceful shape and flight, moreover it often flies... Wikipedia →
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Welcome Swallow sighting in Rakiura National Park on a given day, based on 589 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 27th most-seen of the 80 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September
In that month about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Welcome Swallow in Rakiura National Park on a given day, against about 10% in July, the lowest month.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Welcome Swallow sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
19th of 27
Of the 27 parks where we can rate Welcome Swallow sightings, Rakiura National Park ranks 19th at about 30%. The best odds are in Rottnest Island (Australia, about 90%), Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park (Australia, about 60%) and Maria Island National Park (Australia, about 60%). All parks ranked.
Same order: Passeriformes
The closest relatives of the Welcome Swallow that you can see in Rakiura National Park (order Passeriformes, Perching Birds) are Tūī (about 90%), New Zealand Bellbird (about 80%) and New Zealand Fantail (about 70%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Welcome Swallow is recorded against all the birds logged in Rakiura National Park (589 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.
