Tahiti swiftlet

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Tahiti swiftlet
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Clade: Strisores
Order: Apodiformes
Family: Apodidae
Genus: Aerodramus
Species:
A. leucophaeus
Binomial name
Aerodramus leucophaeus
(Peale, 1849)
Synonyms
  • Collocalia leucophaeus (Peale, 1848) [orth. error]
  • Collocalia leucophaea

The Tahiti swiftlet or Polynesian swiftlet (Aerodramus leucophaeus) is a species of swift in the family Apodidae. While often compared to the Marquesan Swiftlet, this bird is often more pale faced. [2] The subspecies is the Monotypic which means it does not include a subspecies. [3]

Contents

It is endemic to the Society Islands in French Polynesia, where it occurs on Tahiti and Moorea.

Description

Aerodramus leucophaeus is closely related to the species of the A. Sawtelli. Characteristics include slightly short wings, forked tail, dark brown upperparts, and grey brown underparts. [3] Birds' wings typically get shorter the closer they live to the equator, explaining why these swiflets are located closer to the Southern Island region. This is due to the fact that the bird's short wings are not equipped to travel far distances, causing the bird to remain in relatively restricted areas for most of its life. [4] This bird is about 11 cm with a forked tail.

They have a dry call with repeated intervals. [3] The call is also heard as insect-like and trilling. [2] The trilling sound is usually associated with high pitched sounds. Birds hear at a much quicker frequency than humans, allowing them to understand this call. [5]

It has been reported that this species has some form of echolocation. [3]

Bird echolocation is limited to a lower frequency, having poorer resolution than that of echolocation in bats and other animals. This low frequency makes the echolocation audible to humans. Birds such as the swiftlet use echolocation to locate their way around dark caves and nesting locations in order to settle safely. [6]

Diet and habitat

The Swiftlet feeds on insects, which it captures while in flight, feeding at high elevations.[ citation needed ] It prefers wet, rocky and forested valleys at high elevations, and nests either in shallow depressions with overhanging rocks, coastal cliffs or caves. Populations have been found in the Polynesian Island Moorea. They have a wide variety of nest sites: caves, depressions under coastal cliffs or rocks, and are supported using saliva. Nests were found in Marquesas. [3] Marquesa is a volcanic island located in French Polynesia. [7]

The climate of the Society Islands is hot and humid between the months of November and April, but cool and dry through the remaining months of the year. [8]  

The island of Moorea consists of jagged peaks and includes a large mountain range made up of ancient volcanoes. [9]

Conservation

Currently this species is not globally threatened. They are classified as vulnerable, but stable. This is due to predation on eggs. [3] It is typical of this species to lay two eggs at a time. Nests of this species are made with vegetable matter and held together by saliva.[ citation needed ] This species remains rare, surviving in only a few valleys and continue to be a priority to conserve. [10] They are mostly found in flocks, (up to 100).

Total population estimate of 200–500 birds in 1984 and currently still thought to number fewer than 1000 individuals of which the most important subpopulation (100 birds) is in Papehue Valley. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swift (bird)</span> Family of birds

The swifts are a family, Apodidae, 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 with hummingbirds. The treeswifts are closely related to the true swifts, but form a separate family, the Hemiprocnidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polynesian sandpiper</span> Genus of birds

The Polynesian sandpipers form the genus Prosobonia. They are small wading birds confined to remote Pacific islands of French Polynesia. Only one species is now extant, and it is rare and little known. This bird is sometimes separated in the genus Aechmorhynchus, restricting the genus to the extinct southern forms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swiftlet</span> Tribe of birds in the swift family

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.

<i>Aerodramus</i> Genus of birds

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian swiftlet</span> Species of bird

The Indian Swiftlet or Indian edible-nest swiftlet is a small swift. It is a common resident colonial breeder in the hills of Sri Lanka and south west India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uniform swiftlet</span> Species of bird

The uniform swiftlet,, also known as the Vanikoro swiftlet or lowland swiftlet, is a gregarious, medium-sized swiftlet with a shallowly forked tail. The colouring is dark grey-brown, darker on the upperparts with somewhat paler underparts, especially on chin and throat. This species is widespread from the Philippines through Wallacea, New Guinea and Melanesia. It forages for flying insects primarily in lowland forests and open areas. It nests in caves where it uses its sense of echolocation, rare in birds, to navigate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Himalayan swiftlet</span> Species of bird

The Himalayan swiftlet is a small swift. It is a common colonial breeder in the Himalayas and Southeast Asia. Some populations are migratory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seychelles swiftlet</span> Species of bird

The Seychelles swiftlet is a small bird of the swift family. It is found only in the Seychelles Islands in the Indian Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edible-nest swiftlet</span> Species of bird

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.

The Mariana swiftlet or Guam swiftlet is a species of swiftlet in the family Apodidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Germain's swiftlet</span> Species of bird

Germain's swiftlet is a species of swift.

The mountain swiftlet is a species of swift in the family Apodidae. It is endemic to the island of New Guinea and the nearby islands of Karkar, Yapen and Goodenough. It was once placed in the genus Collocalia but has been moved, with many others, to Aerodramus. The species is divided into three subspecies, with the nominate, A. h. hirundinacea ranging over most of New Guinea, the subspecies A. h. excelsus occurring over 1600 m in the Snow Mountains and Cartenz peaks of Irian Jaya and A. h. baru being restricted to Yapen Island. It occurs in alpine areas from 500 m to the treeline. Its natural habitat is tropical moist montane forests and other mountainous habitats in New Guinea. It also occurs in lower numbers in the lowlands near hills.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atiu swiftlet</span> Species of bird

The Atiu swiftlet or Sawtell's Swiftlet is a species of bird in the swift family, endemic to Atiu in the Cook Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian swiftlet</span> Species of bird

The Australian swiftlet is a small bird belonging to the genus Aerodramus in the swift family, Apodidae. It is endemic to Queensland in north-eastern Australia. It was formerly included in the white-rumped swiftlet but is now commonly treated as a separate species. It has two subspecies which are occasionally regarded as two separate species: A. t. terraereginae and A. t. chillagoensis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Index of French Polynesia–related articles</span>

This page list topics related to French Polynesia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apodinae</span> Subfamily of birds

The Apodinae are a subfamily of swifts and contain the following species:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Society Islands tropical moist forests</span>

The Society Islands tropical moist forests is a tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests ecoregion in the Society Islands of French Polynesia.

References

  1. BirdLife International (2016). "Aerodramus leucophaeus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T60838951A95163508. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T60838951A95163508.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Polynesian Swiftlet - eBird". ebird.org. Retrieved 2021-10-12.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Chantler, Philip; Kirwan, Guy M.; Boesman, Peter F. D. (2020-03-04). Billerman, Shawn M; Keeney, Brooke K; Rodewald, Paul G; Schulenberg, Thomas S (eds.). "Polynesian Swiftlet (Aerodramus leucophaeus)". Birds of the World. doi:10.2173/bow.polswi1.01. S2CID   241826390.
  4. Copenhagen, University of. "The shape of a bird's wing determines where it lives". phys.org. Retrieved 2021-10-18.
  5. "A Beginner's Guide to Common Bird Sounds and What They Mean". Audubon. 2017-04-12. Retrieved 2021-10-12.
  6. Brinkløv, Signe; Fenton, M. Brock; Ratcliffe, John M. (2013). "Echolocation in Oilbirds and swiftlets". Frontiers in Physiology. 4: 123. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2013.00123 . ISSN   1664-042X. PMC   3664765 . PMID   23755019.
  7. "Marquesas Islands". WorldAtlas. 2021-05-10. Retrieved 2021-10-12.
  8. admin (2013-11-18). "The climate of French Polynesia: when to go to Polynesia". Travel Guide. Retrieved 2021-10-12.
  9. "Moorea | Tahiti Vacations | Bora Bora Vacations". Tahiti Vacations | Bora Bora Vacations | Tahiti Travel Plannners. Retrieved 2021-10-12.
  10. "Polynesian Swiftlet (Aerodramus leucophaeus) - BirdLife species factsheet". datazone.birdlife.org. Retrieved 2021-10-18.