| Pacific swallow | |
|---|---|
 | |
| at Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Hirundinidae |
| Genus: | Hirundo |
| Species: | H. javanica |
| Binomial name | |
| Hirundo javanica Sparrman, 1789 | |
ThePacific swallow (Hirundo javanica) is a smallpasserine bird in the swallow familyHirundinidae. It breeds in tropical southern Asia and the islands of the south Pacific. It is resident apart from some local seasonal movements. This bird is associated with coasts, but is increasingly spreading to forested uplands.[2] It was formerly treated asconspecific withhill swallow, thewelcome swallow and theTahiti swallow.
The Pacific swallow wasformally described and illustrated in 1789 by the Swedish naturalistAnders Sparrman based on a specimen collected on the Indonesian island ofJava. He coined thebinomial nameHirundo javanica.[3][4] The Pacific swallow was formerly considered to beconspecific with theTahiti swallow (Hirundo tahitica). The species were split based on the differences in morphology.[5]
Sixsubspecies are recognised:[5]
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 thebarn swallow and the closely relatedwelcome swallow in its shorter and less forked tail.[2][6]
The Pacific swallow builds a neat cup-shaped nest, constructed with mud pellets collected in the beak, under a cliff ledge or on man-made structures such as a building, bridge or tunnel. The nest is lined with softer material, and the clutch is two to three eggs. It is similar in behaviour to other aerialinsectivores, such as otherswallows and the unrelatedswifts. It is a fast flyer and feeds oninsects, especiallyflies, while airborne.[2]
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