NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Welcome Swallow
Hirundo neoxena Gould, 1842
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
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. 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. Eastern populations are largely migratory, wintering in northern Australia. Western birds and those in New Zealand are mainly sedentary.
Wikipedia contributors, Welcome swallow; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T04:47:00.435258+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Hirundo neoxena Gould, 1842
- Name authority
- Gould, 1842
- Common name
- Welcome Swallow
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Hirundinidae
- Genus
- Hirundo
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyHirundinidae Rafinesque, 1815
- genusHirundo Linnaeus, 1758
- speciesHirundo neoxena Gould, 1842
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Hirundo. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| White-throated SwallowHirundo albigularis Strickland, 1849 | HirundinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Blue SwallowHirundo atrocaerulea Sundevall, 1850 | HirundinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| White-tailed SwallowHirundo megaensis Benson, 1942 | HirundinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black-and-rufous SwallowHirundo nigrorufa Barboza du Bocage, 1877 | HirundinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Pacific SwallowHirundo tahitica J. F. Gmelin, 1789 | HirundinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Pacific SwallowHirundo javanica Sparrman, 1789 | HirundinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Ethiopian SwallowHirundo aethiopica Blanford, 1869 | HirundinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Pearl-breasted SwallowHirundo dimidiata Sundevall, 1850 | HirundinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Hill SwallowHirundo domicola Jerdon, 1841 | HirundinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Pied-winged SwallowHirundo leucosoma Swainson, 1837 | HirundinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Red-chested SwallowHirundo lucida Hartlaub, 1858 | HirundinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| White-bibbed SwallowHirundo nigrita G. R. Gray, 1845 | HirundinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- Gould, & John. (1842). The Birds of Australia, Vol. 2, Part 9. Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:6LWCC. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.