Wire-tailed Swallow

Hosts on Spekboom have recorded the Wire-tailed Swallow at stays in or beside Kruger National Park, Mapungubwe National Park, iSimangaliso Wetland Park, Ithala Game Reserve and Weenen Game Reserve. A record means a host has seen it on the property or nearby, which makes these the places to base yourself; it is never a guarantee of a sighting on any given day.

The Wire-tailed Swallow is most recorded in Mpumalanga (46% of records), KwaZulu-Natal (30% of records), Limpopo (25% of records), based on 806 iNaturalist observations. 48 places to stay on Spekboom in South Africa have recorded the Wire-tailed Swallow on site or nearby.

The Wire-tailed Swallow is recorded throughout the year, so no month is the wrong month to look for it. For the parks where hosts record it most, these are the best seasons they give. Kruger National Park: Apr-Sep; Mapungubwe National Park: May-Sep, dry season; iSimangaliso Wetland Park: year-round, dry season May-Sep; Ithala Game Reserve: year-round, dry season May-Sep. In the dry months animals concentrate at water and the grass is short.

The Wire-tailed Swallow (Hirundo smithii) is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

The wire-tailed swallow (Hirundo smithii) is a small passerine bird in the swallow family. It has two subspecies: H. s. smithii, which occurs throughout Africa, and H. s. filifera, which is found in southern and southeastern Asia. It is mainly resident, but populations in Pakistan and northern India migrate further south in winter. The genus name Hirundo is the Latin word for swallow.