Cecropis hyperythra
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
The Sri Lanka swallow (Cecropis hyperythra) is a resident breeder endemic to Sri Lanka. It is closely related to the red-rumped swallow, and was formerly considered a subspecies. Quite a large swallow with a deeply forked tail. It has a deep rufous underside and an unmarked navy-blue rump, a unique feature of this species. Its rufous underside can be used to tell it apart from the red-rumped swallow. It is a passerine, which means it has three toes pointing forward and one pointing backward, allowing it to perch.
It is found in a variety of open country habitats in both the lowlands and foothills in Sri Lanka, including farm fields and lightly wooded areas. It usually lives in pairs or small groups. Rasmussen, P.C., and J.C. Anderton. 2005. Birds of South Asia. The Ripley guide. Volume 2: attributes and status. Smithsonian Institution and Lynx Edicions, Washington D.C. and Barcelona Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yala National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 2 | Udawalawe National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 3 | Sinharaja Forest Reserve | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 4 | Minneriya National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 5 | Wilpattu National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 6 | Horton Plains National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Sri Lanka Swallow sighting in Sinharaja Forest Reserve on a given day, based on 649 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 30th most-seen of the 156 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May and November
In those months about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Sri Lanka Swallow in Sinharaja Forest Reserve on a given day, against about 30% in January–February, April and July, the lowest months. Those are among Sinharaja Forest Reserve's wettest months, with about 470 mm of rain a month against 150 mm in March.
Between 3 and 6 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Sri Lanka Swallow sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
Among the best
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Sri Lanka Swallow sightings, Sinharaja Forest Reserve ranks 3rd at about 40%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Yala National Park (Sri Lanka, about 40%) and Udawalawe National Park (Sri Lanka, about 40%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Sri Lanka Swallow is recorded against all the birds logged in Sinharaja Forest Reserve (649 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.
