Short-tailed swift
| Short-tailed Swift | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | |
| Phylum: | |
| Class: | |
| Subclass: | |
| Infraclass: | |
| (unranked): | |
| Order: | |
| Family: | |
| Genus: | |
| Species: | C. brachyura
|
| Binomial name | |
| Chaetura brachyura | |
The Short-tailed Swift, Chaetura brachyura, is a common resident breeding bird on Trinidad, Tobago, Grenada and St Vincent, and in tropical South America from Panama, Colombia and the Guianas south to Ecuador, Peru and Brazil; in Brazil, the entire Amazon Basin, excluding much of the southeastern Basin. It rarely occurs over 800 m ASL even in the hottest parts of its range and in mountaineous or hilly terrain it inhabits[1], but has been recorded as high as 1,300 m ASL[2].
The Short-tailed Swift is about 10.5 cm long, and weighs 20 g. It has long narrow wings, a robust body and a short tail. The sexes are similar. It is mainly black with a pale rump and tail. It can be distinguished from related species in its range, such as the Band-rumped Swift (C. spinicauda) or the Gray-rumped Swift (C. cinereiventris) by the lack of contrast between the rump and the tail, the latter being much darker in the other species.
The flight call is a rapid chittering sti-sti-stew-stew-stew.
This small swift is found in a range of habitats including savanna, open woodland, and cultivation. It feeds in flight on flying insects, including winged ants and termites. It is very gregarious and forms communal roosts when not breeding. Predation by bats at the nest sites has been suspected.
The nest is a 5 cm wide shallow half-saucer of twigs and saliva attached to a vertical surface. This is often a man-made structure like a chimney or manhole, as with its relative, the Chimney Swift (C. pelagica), but natural caves and tree cavities are also used.
Up to seven white eggs (average 3 or 4) are incubated by both parents for 17–18 days. The young leave the nest in a further two weeks, but remain near it, clinging to the cavity wall without flying, for another two weeks.
Footnotes
References
- Template:IUCN2008
- Chantler, Phil & Driessens, Gerald (2000): Swifts: a guide to the swifts and treeswifts of the world. Pica Press, Mountfield, East Sussex. ISBN 1-873403-83-6
- Cuervo, Andrés M.; Hernández-Jaramillo, Alejandro; Cortés-Herrera, José Oswaldo & Laverde, Oscar (2007): Nuevos registros de aves en la parte alta de la Serranía de las Quinchas, Magdalena medio, Colombia [New bird records from the highlands of Serranía de las Quinchas, middle Magdalena valley, Colombia]. Ornitología Colombiana 5: 94-98 [Spanish with English abstract]. PDF fulltext
- ffrench, Richard; O'Neill, John Patton & Eckelberry, Don R. (1991): A guide to the birds of Trinidad and Tobago (2nd edition). Comstock Publishing, Ithaca, N.Y.. ISBN 0-8014-9792-2
- Hilty, Steven L. (2003): Birds of Venezuela. Christopher Helm, London. ISBN 0-7136-6418-5
- Laverde-R., Oscar; Stiles, F. Gary & Múnera-R., Claudia (2005): Nuevos registros e inventario de la avifauna de la Serranía de las Quinchas, un área importante para la conservación de las aves (AICA) en Colombia [New records and updated inventory of the avifauna of the Serranía de las Quinchas, an important bird area (IBA) in Colombia]. Caldasia 27(2): 247-265 [Spanish with English abstract]. PDF fulltext
External links
- IUCN Red List least concern species
- Chaetura
- Swifts
- Birds of Panama
- Birds of Brazil
- Birds of the Amazon Basin
- Birds of Marajó Island
- Birds of Colombia
- Birds of Ecuador
- Birds of the Guianas
- Birds of Peru
- Birds of Venezuela
- Birds of the Lesser Antilles
- Birds of Grenada
- Birds of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Birds of Trinidad and Tobago