Pacific Swallow © flickr.com

Forms a superspecies with Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica), Red-chested Swallow (Hirundo lucida), Angola Swallow (Hirundo angolensis), Welcome Swallow (Hirundo neoxena), White-throated Swallow (Hirundo albigularis) and Ethiopian Swallow (Hirundo aethiopica). Sometimes treated as conspecific with Welcome Swallow (Hirundo neoxena), but differs morphologically (especially in bill size and in tail structure and markings). Sometimes split into two species, based on eastern "nominate group" (also including ambiens and subfusca) and paler western "javanica group", but racial variation is clinal throughout; the groups meet in western Melanesia, where birds in New Britain (ambiens) are intermediate between the two, and individuals on Long I (in southern Bismarck Sea) appear intermediate between New Britain and northern New Guinea populations. Further, subspecies domicola has been considered a separate species by some, in part because of its geographical isolation from other subspecies and its greenish, rather than blue, gloss. Taxonomic status requires review. Subspecies frontalis not well differentiated, also has been thought to include individuals from Wallacea, but they probably belong with javanica; birds from Philippines and Borneo (and sometimes those west to Malay Peninsula and south to Sumatra) intergrade with latter, and generally indistinguishable from it, but sometimes treated as a separate subspecies abbotti (with which mallopega from northern Philippines synonymized).

The following 8 subspecies are recognised:

• domicola Gmelin, 1789   -  Southern India and Sri Lanka.
• javanica Sparrman, 1789   -  Southern India and Sri Lanka. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, House Swallow (Hirundo javanica).
• namiyei (Stejneger, 1887)   -  Ryukyu Is (Nansei-shoto) and Taiwan.
• frontalis Quoy & Gaimard, 1832   -  Northern and western New Guinea.
• albescens Schodde & Mason, IJ, 1999   -  Southern and eastern New Guinea.
• ambiens Mayr, 1934   -  New Britain, in Bismarck Archipelago.
• subfusca Gould, 1856   -  New Ireland east through Solomons, New Caledonia and Vanuatu to Fiji and Tonga.
• tahitica Gmelin, 1789   -  Society Is (Moorea, Tahiti).

Files:

More Information

BirdLife International For more information about the Pacific Swallow see... BirdLife International Species Factsheet. Articles about the Pacific Swallow If you would like to read any articles about the Pacific Swallow... Show Articles (0) No Pictures of Pacific Swallow If Birdpedia has no pictures of Pacific Swallow or you would like to see more, then try the following...       From BING (10) No Videos of Pacific Swallow If Birdpedia has no videos of Pacific Swallow or you would like to see more, then try the following..       From BING (0) Where can I observe this species? Select an area (or leave blank) to see locations where this species has been recorded. Area   MALAYPEN SABAH SARAWAK   All    Optional: Complete the following if you wish to restrict the reserve to within a given distance of a location. Please enter the Latitude and Longitiude of a given location together with the maximum distance (km) to display a list of reserves within that distance. You must enter a Latitude, a Longitude and a distance greater than 0.   Latitude: (Decimal degrees takes precedence) Deg Min Sec     Decimal degrees (Include compass setting or value)          N S or   GPS help Longitude: (Decimal degrees takes precedence) Deg Min Sec     Decimal degrees (Include compass setting or value)          E W or   Find GPS using Google Maps Distance Bearing     N NE E SE S SW W NW Get Sample GPS readings On What Field Trips was this species observed? Select an area (or leave blank), and a date range, to see field trips on which this species has been recorded. Area   MALAYPEN SABAH SARAWAK   All    From To     Optional: Complete the following if you wish to restrict the reserve to within a given distance of a location. Please enter the Latitude and Longitiude of a given location together with the maximum distance (km) to display a list of reserves within that distance. You must enter a Latitude, a Longitude and a distance greater than 0.   Latitude: (Decimal degrees takes precedence) Deg Min Sec     Decimal degrees (Include compass setting or value)          N S or   GPS help Longitude: (Decimal degrees takes precedence) Deg Min Sec     Decimal degrees (Include compass setting or value)          E W or Distance Bearing     N NE E SE S SW W NW Get Sample GPS readings Latest Sightings for Pacific Swallow Select the Area to restrict the Sightings. Area   MALAYPEN SABAH SARAWAK   All