Wild Bird Wednesday 685 - Welcome Swallow.

The Welcome Swallow (Hirundo neoxena) is Australia's most widespread - and familiar - swallow.  It occurs over most of the continent and is only absent from some parts of the more arid western areas.

The Welcome Swallow is very closely related to the Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) which is the most widespread species of swallow in the world.  The Barm Swallow does occur in Australia, but is restricted to the far north coast.

Unlike the Barn Swallow, the Welcome Swallow is not a truly migratory bird - while a large number of birds from southern Australia do move north for the winter (remember, this is the southern hemisphere, so north is warmer!) not all of them do so.  This means that on any given day of the year it is not really a surprise to see these birds.

The structure that these birds are sitting on is a protective barrier around an outflow pipe at Werribee.  These birds were part of a much larger group of swallows than I have seen in a while, so perhaps they represent the return of the northern birds for the summer season.  The weather over the last few days has certainly be suggestive of spring, even if the calendar suggests other wise.

Interestingly these birds can even be seen at sea — the name ‘Welcome’ swallow comes from sailors who knew that the sight of a swallow meant that land was not far away.

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