Blue-and-white Swallow (Pygochelidon cyanoleuca) | Photos, Calls and ID

LCLeast ConcernInvertebrates

UrbanCavity nestTiny · 10 g

Blue-and-white Swallow (Pygochelidon cyanoleuca), photo 8 — Photo: (c) Esteban Poveda, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY

Blue-and-white Swallow (Pygochelidon cyanoleuca), photo 9 — Photo: (c) Ryan F. Mandelbaum, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY

Blue-and-white Swallow (Pygochelidon cyanoleuca), photo 10 — Photo: (c) David F. Belmonte, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY

What the Blue-and-white Swallow sounds like

Sonogram of the Blue-and-white Swallow: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.

Recorded by Niels Krabbe · Flight call · Carchi: Loma Laurel, Ecuador · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto

Recorded by Niels Krabbe · Call · Zamora-Chinchipe: Reserva Tapichalaca, near Q. Cristopher Parson, Ecuador · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto

Recorded by Niels Krabbe · Call · Pichincha: Tandayapa ridge 3 km SSW Tandayapa, Ecuador · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto

ID tip

The adult blue-and-white swallow averages 11–12 cm (4.3–4.7 in) long and weighs about 10 g (0.35 oz). It has dark blue upperparts and white underparts, and its underwings and the undersurface of its short forked tail are blackish. The juvenile is brown above, buff-tinted below, and has a less forked tail. The call is a buzzing dzzzhreeee. There are three subspecies. The nominate N. c. cyanoleuca occurs from Nicaragua and Trinidad south to northwestern Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. The migratory southern race N. c. patagonica is larger, 13.5 cm (5.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Blue-and-white Swallow

One bar for each month, and every month is filled: this bird is recorded here in all twelve. The wide bar is October, the month with the most records.

Where to see the Blue-and-white Swallow

Regular rangeRare visitor

The map shades 17 countries with regular records, and 1 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

Brazil Costa Rica Colombia Ecuador Peru Chile Argentina Venezuela Uruguay Panama Bolivia Paraguay Trinidad & Tobago French Guiana Guyana Suriname Caribbean Netherlands

Recorded as a rare visitor in United States.

About the Blue-and-white Swallow

The blue-and-white swallow is a passerine bird that breeds from Nicaragua south throughout South America, except in the deserts and the Amazon Basin. The southern race is migratory, wintering as far north as Trinidad, where it is a regular visitor. The nominate northern race may have bred on that island.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

Black-collared SwallowPygochelidon melanoleucaThe black-collared swallow is about 14 cm (5.5 in) long and weighs 10 to 12 g (0.35 to 0.42 oz).

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