Welcome swallow | |
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At Risdon Brook Park in Tasmania | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Hirundinidae |
Genus: | Hirundo |
Species: | H. neoxena
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Binomial name | |
Hirundo neoxena Gould, 1842
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The welcome swallow (Hirundo neoxena) is a small passerine bird in the swallow family Hirundinidae that is native to Australia and nearby islands. It has self-introduced into New Zealand in the middle of the twentieth century.[2] It is very similar to the Pacific swallow with which it is often considered conspecific.
This species breeds in southern and eastern Australia in a variety of habitats, mostly in open areas, man-made clearings or urban environments, but not desert or dense forest.[3] Eastern populations are largely migratory, wintering in northern Australia. Western birds and those in New Zealand are mainly sedentary.