The Australian swiftlet (''Aerodramus terraereginae'') is a small

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

belonging to the genus ''

Aerodramus ''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 ...

'' in the

swift Swift or SWIFT most commonly refers to: * SWIFT, an international organization facilitating transactions between banks ** SWIFT code * Swift (programming language) * Swift (bird), a family of birds It may also refer to: Organizations * SWIFT, ...

family, Apodidae. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

in north-eastern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It was formerly included in the

white-rumped swiftlet The white-rumped swiftlet (''Aerodramus spodiopygius'') is a species of swift in the family Apodidae. It is found in American Samoa, Fiji, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), of ...

(''Aerodramus spodiopygius'') but is now commonly treated as a separate species. It has two

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

which are occasionally regarded as two separate species: ''A. t. terraereginae'' and ''A. t. chillagoensis'' (Chillagoe swiftlet).

Description

It is 11-12 centimetres long with a wing length of 107–118.2 millimetres and a weight of 10.5-12.5 grams. The upperparts are dark grey-brown while the underparts are a uniform greyish. There are pale feathers on the forehead and lores. The rump is normally pale greyish but can occasionally be darker. The tail is slightly forked. The form ''chillagoensis'' is smaller and paler with a weight of around 9.39 grams. It has a high-pitched flight call. In its breeding

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

s, it utters a metallic clicking call, used for echolocation.

Distribution

''A. t. terraereginae'' occurs in tropical north-east Queensland from the Claudie River on the

Cape York Peninsula Cape York Peninsula is a large peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest unspoiled wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth’s last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupación ...

south as far as the Eungella Range near

Mackay Mackay may refer to: *Clan Mackay, the Scottish clan from which the surname "MacKay" derives Mackay may also refer to: Places Australia * Mackay Region, a local government area ** Mackay, Queensland, a city in the above region *** Mackay Airpor ...

. It is mainly found near the coast including a number of offshore islands. It occurs up to 1000 metres above sea-level but is commonest below 500 metres. ''A. t. chillagoensis'' is found further inland in the area around

Chillagoe Chillagoe is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Mareeba, Queensland, Australia. In the the locality of Chillagoe had a population of 251 people. It was once a thriving mining town for a range of minerals, but is now reduced to a small z ...

, west of the

Great Dividing Range The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills, that runs rough ...

Ecology

Breeding occurs from July to March. The species breeds in

colonies In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state'' ...

which can contain hundreds of individuals. These are located in caves or sometimes amongst boulders. The

nest A nest is a structure built for certain animals to hold eggs or young. Although nests are most closely associated with birds, members of all classes of vertebrates and some invertebrates construct nests. They may be composed of organic materia ...

is attached to the walls or ceiling of the cave, 2–20 metres above the ground. It is translucent and basket-shaped and made from

saliva Saliva (commonly referred to as spit) is an extracellular fluid produced and secreted by salivary glands in the mouth. In humans, saliva is around 99% water, plus electrolytes, mucus, white blood cells, epithelial cells (from which DNA can be ...

mixed with

grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns an ...

es,

casuarina ''Casuarina'' is a genus of 17 tree species in the family Casuarinaceae, native to Australia, the Indian subcontinent, southeast Asia, islands of the western Pacific Ocean, and eastern Africa. It was once treated as the sole genus in the fami ...

needles, twigs and feathers. Two

clutches A clutch is a mechanical device that engages and disengages power transmission, especially from a drive shaft to a driven shaft. In the simplest application, clutches connect and disconnect two rotating shafts (drive shafts or line shafts). ...

are laid during the breeding season, each consisting of a single white

egg An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the a ...

. The egg is incubated by both parents for about 26.5 days. Incubation of the second egg is aided by warmth from the first chick. The young bird remains in the nest for about 46–51 days after hatching. The Australian swiftlet feeds in flight, preying on

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

s and drifting

spider Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...

s. It forages in flocks over

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...

edges,

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

, pastures, beaches and gorges. It generally feeds within 30 kilometres of the breeding colony, leaving the nest for periods of about 30 minutes to hunt.

References

*Chantler, Phil & Driessens, Gerald (2000) ''Swifts: A Guide to the Swifts and Treeswifts of the World'', 2nd ed., Pica Press, East Sussex. *Pizzey, Graham & Knight, Frank (1997) ''The Graham Pizzey & Frank Knight Field Guide to the Birds of Australia'', HarperCollins, London, UK.

External links

Australasian Bird Image Database: Australian Swiftlet
{{Taxonbar, from=Q26464 Australian swiftlet Australian swiftlet Birds of Cape York Peninsula Australian swiftlet