Stats

Lifespan: 5-8 yrs
Size: Small
Diet: Insectivore
Activity: Diurnal
Social: Flock
Biome: Tropical coast
Range: Southeast Asia
Movement: Flight
Breeding: Egg-laying
Defense: Speed
Status: Uncommon

About

A small, glossy blue-black swallow common across coastal Southeast Asia and Pacific islands, often seen skimming low over water or nesting under bridges and building eaves. Unlike many migratory swallows, it breeds year-round and rarely travels far from its natal site.

Life cycle

1.
egg
A small clutch of speckled eggs is incubated in a cup nest, turned and kept warm by the parent.
2.
hatchling
A pink, blind hatchling is fed by its parents in the nest, gaping its bill at every visit.
3.
juvenile
A feathered juvenile fledges from the nest, learning to fly and to forage close to its parents.
4.
adult
Fully grown with adult plumage and song.

Learn more

Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Hirundinidae
Genus: Hirundo
Species: Hirundo javanica