The Apodidae, or swifts, form a family of highly aerial birds. They are superficially similar to swallows, but are not closely related to any passerine species. Swifts are placed in the order Apodiformes along with hummingbirds. The treeswifts are closely related to the true swifts, but form a separate family, the Hemiprocnidae.
Swiftlets are birds from the four genera Aerodramus, Collocalia, Hydrochous and Schoutedenapus, which form the tribe Collocaliini within the swift family Apodidae. The group contains around thirty species mostly confined to southern Asia, south Pacific islands, and northeastern Australia, all within the tropical and subtropical regions. They are in many respects typical members of the Apodidae, having narrow wings for fast flight, with a wide gape and small reduced beak surrounded by bristles for catching insects in flight. What distinguishes many but not all species from other swifts and indeed almost all other birds is their ability to use a simple but effective form of echolocation to navigate in total darkness through the chasms and shafts of the caves where they roost at night and breed.
Aerodramus is a genus of small, dark, cave-nesting birds in the Collocaliini tribe of the swift family. Its members are confined to tropical and subtropical regions in southern Asia, Oceania and northeastern Australia. Many of its members were formerly classified in Collocalia, but were first placed in a separate genus by American ornithologist Harry Church Oberholser in 1906.
The edible-nest swiftlet, also known as the white-nest swiftlet, is a small bird of the swift family which is found in Southeast Asia. Its opaque and whitish bird nest is made exclusively of solidified saliva and is the main ingredient of bird's nest soup, a delicacy of Chinese cuisine. Germain's swiftlet is now treated as conspecific with this species.
Collocalia is a genus of swifts, containing some of the smaller species termed "swiftlets". Formerly a catch-all genus for these, a number of its former members are now normally placed in Aerodramus.
The glossy swiftlet is a species of swift in the family Apodidae. It is found on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi and eastwards to New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago and the Solomon Islands.
The Moluccan swiftlet is a small bird in the swift family Apodidae that is found on Sulawesi and on the Maluku Islands in Indonesia. Two subspecies, the Sulawesi swiftlet and the Seram swiftlet, have sometimes been considered as separate species.
The pygmy swiftlet is a species of swift in the family Apodidae. It is endemic to the Philippines.
The giant swiftlet, also known as the waterfall swift, is a species of bird in the swift family, Apodidae. It is the only member of the monotypic genus Hydrochous. It is found in Malaysia, Sumatra and Java, where its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forests and rivers. It is threatened by habitat loss.
The Christmas Island swiftlet, also known as the Christmas glossy swiftlet or the Christmas cave swiftlet, is a small bird in the swift family Apodidae. It is endemic to Christmas Island, an Australian territory in the eastern Indian Ocean. It was formerly commonly treated as a subspecies of the glossy swiftlet.
The Bornean swiftlet, also referred to as the Kinabalu 'linchi' swiftlet, is a small bird in the swift family Apodidae. It is endemic to the northern mountains of the island of Borneo. It has variously been considered a subspecies of the glossy swiftlet or the cave swiftlet, and in 2008 was split from the latter as a full species C. dodgei.
The volcano swiftlet is a species of bird in the Apodidae family, formerly considered conspecific with the Himalayan swiftlet .The Volcano swiftlet is commonly measured at 13 to 14 cm long and characterized as dark gray with an unmissable brown rump band, whereas younger individuals show a less defined band. They can be easily heard because of the unique "Teeree teereeeee teeereeeee" clicking sound they make. Nothing is known about the diet of this bird. Many species of Aerodramus swiftlets nest colonially in caves, which leads them to use echolocation to navigate through the dark environments like caves and crevices, as well as during the twilight hours. While the swiftlet can echolocate like the very known species of the bat, they are much less educated and less refined in using it for capturing prey. This echolocation capability distinguishes Aerodramus from closely related genera like hydrochous and most species within Collocalia.
The grey-rumped swiftlet or grey-rumped swiftlet, is a small bird in the swift family Apodidae. It is endemic to some islands in the Philippines.
The Apodinae are a subfamily of swifts and contain the following species:
The satin swiftlet is a small bird in the swift family Apodidae. It is endemic to the Santa Cruz Islands, Vanuatu, New Caledonia and the Loyalty Islands in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It was formerly treated as a subspecies of the glossy swiftlet.
The drab swiftlet is a small bird in the swift family Apodidae. It is endemic to the Lesser Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It was formerly treated as a subspecies of the glossy swiftlet.
The plume-toed swiftlet is a small bird in the swift family Apodidae. It is found on some eastern Indian Ocean islands, the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, and lowland Borneo.
The ridgetop swiftlet is a small bird in the swift family Apodidae. It is endemic to the Philippines.
The Tenggara swiftlet is a small bird in the swift family Apodidae. It is endemic to the western Lesser Sunda Islands of Indonesia.
