The grey-rumped treeswift (''Hemiprocne longipennis'') is a species of

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 ...

in the Hemiprocnidae family. Currently, four

extant Extant is the opposite of the word extinct. It may refer to: * Extant hereditary titles * Extant literature, surviving literature, such as ''Beowulf'', the oldest extant manuscript written in English * Extant taxon, a taxon which is not extinct, ...

species are placed in the family. Like the other members of the Hemiprocnidae, this species is closely related to true swifts, but unlike true swifts, the treeswifts are arboreal in nature, often seen perched on trees and high-tension power transmission lines, and on

pylons Pylon may refer to: Structures and boundaries * Pylon (architecture), the gateway to the inner part of an Ancient Egyptian temple or Christian cathedral * Pylon, a support tower structure for suspension bridges or highways * Pylon, an orange mar ...

. When perched, the wing tips cross over the tail. This species is commonly found in

peninsular A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

, but has an extremely large range with limited information about the population trend,.Jeyarajasingam. A. and Pearson. A. 2012. A Field Guide to the Birds of Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore. Oxford University press

Description

Adult males have a distinct dark grey throat and chest contrasting with a white belly. Ear coverts are dull orange red/chestnut colored. Adult females lack the dull orange-red/chestnut coloration on the ear coverts. When perched, the wing tips cross over across the tail. Both sexes have a greenish sheen to the upper parts.

Distribution

It is found in

Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely sur ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

, the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

, and

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

. Its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s are subtropical or tropical moist lowland

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

s, subtropical or tropical mangrove forests, and subtropical or tropical moist

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

Ecology and behaviour

The birds occasionally catch insects in flight by sallying from perches. They build nests on tree branches. The half-saucer-shaped nest is made from hardened saliva interspersed with feathers, mosses, and/or flakes of tree bark. The single egg is reportedly attached to nest surface with saliva. Owing to the fragile nature of the nest, it is attached only on one side to the branch. Thus, the bird does not sit directly on the nest for incubation. Similarly, the parent birds reportedly brooded by perching on the branch above the nest and fluffing their breast feathers out to cover it. Hemiprocne longipennis - Manado

Both sexes help incubate the egg. During the shifting of parental care, the partner perches near the incubating adult and carefully slides over the nest.^http://www.besgroup.org/2007/07/30/nesting-of-grey-rumped-treeswift/

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q31795

grey-rumped treeswift The grey-rumped treeswift (''Hemiprocne longipennis'') is a species of bird in the Hemiprocnidae family. Currently, four extant species are placed in the family. Like the other members of the Hemiprocnidae, this species is closely related to t ...

Birds of Malesia

Taxonomy articles created by Polbot