Bird Guide

Pacific Swallow vs White-throated 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
White-throated Swallow (Hirundo albigularis)

White-throated Swallow

Hirundo albigularis

Small22 gGrassland

The white-throated swallow is 14–17 cm long. It has glossy dark blue upperparts and a bright chestnut crown. A dark blue-black breast band separates the white throat from the greyish white underparts and underwing coverts. The upper wings, underwing flight feathers and forked tail are blackish-blue, but the undertail has white patches near the feather tips. The white throat and blackish breast band are distinctions from similar Hirundo species. The outer feathers are slightly longer in the male than the female.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Diego Rubolini · CC BY 4.0

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