Bird Guide

Pacific Swallow vs Welcome Swallow

Pacific Swallow (Hirundo javanica)

Pacific Swallow

Hirundo javanica

Small18 gCoastal

This species is a small swallow at 13 cm (5.1 in) in length. It has a blue-black back and crown with browner wings and tail, a red face and throat, and dusky underparts. It differs from the barn swallow and the closely related welcome swallow in its shorter and less forked tail.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Johnny Wee · CC BY 2.0
Welcome Swallow (Hirundo neoxena)

Welcome Swallow

Hirundo neoxena

Tiny15 gWetland

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 singly, in couples or in clusters. The welcome swallow is metallic blue-black above, light grey below on the breast and belly, and rusty on the forehead, throat and upper breast. It has a long forked tail, with a row of white spots on the individual feathers. These birds are about 15 cm (5.9 in) long, including the outer tail feathers which are slightly shorter in the female. The welcome swallow's weight is about 9-20g.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: (c) Shane Walker, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Shane Walker · cc-by

Where you might meet both

Learn this pair in BeakBrain

Photo and call practice, free in any browser.

Play BeakBrain

Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Pacific Swallow and Welcome Swallow.