Great Swallow-tailed Swift
Panyptila sanctihieronymi
Large, spectacular swift, seen singly or in small groups (up to 10 birds). Favors drier mountain and foothill areas, often near cliffs, but ranges widely. Rarely associates directly with other swifts. Flight is fast and graceful with long sweeping glides and deep wingbeats. Long, forked, swallow tail is usually held closed in a point. Note the size, shape, and contrasting white throat set off by a black body and cap.
Identification
The great swallow-tailed swift is 18 to 20.5 cm (7.1 to 8.1 in) long and weighs about 48 g (1.7 oz). It has long narrow wings and a long deeply forked tail. The sexes are alike. Adults have a black crown and upper face with two white spots on the forehead. Most of their body is bluish black. Their lower face, throat, collar, upper chest, and flanks are white. Their flight feathers have grayish ends and white tips.
Taxonomy
The great swallow-tailed swift shares genus Panyptila with the lesser swallow-tailed swift (P. cayennensis). It is monotypic.
- Scientific name
- Panyptila sanctihieronymi
- Authority
- Salvin, 1863
- Order
- Apodiformes
- Family
- Apodidae
- Genus
- Panyptila
Range and habitat
The great swallow-tailed swift is found from Nayarit in western Mexico south through Guatemala and Honduras into northern Nicaragua. There are also a few records in Costa Rica. It generally inhabits arid to semi-arid highland landscapes characterized by canyons and large cliffs. In elevation it typically ranges between 1,000 and 2,000 m (3,300 and 6,600 ft) but sometimes wanders to humid areas as low as 600 m (2,000 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The great swallow-tailed swift is generally a year-round resident throughout its range but some wander to Costa Rica outside the breeding season.<p>Like all swifts, the great swallow-tailed swift is an aerial insectivore. It usually forages alone or in small flocks of its species. Details of its diet are lacking.<p>The great swallow-tailed swift builds a tubular nest about 40 to 60 cm (16 to 24 in) long from seed fluff and feathers felted with saliva. It has an entrance near the bottom and the eggs are held on shelf towards the top. It is suspended from the underside of an overhanging rock. The clutch size us unknown but is suspected to be the same two or three eggs as that of the lesser swallow-tailed swift. Nothing else is known about its breeding biology.<p>Two vocalizations of the great swallow-tailed swift are "a plaintive, subtly bisyllabic teeuw, teeuw" and "a reedy chatter kri-kri-kri-kri-kreeuw-kreee".
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Cape Wagtail
Motacilla capensis
Elegant, long-tailed bird with a brownish back, pale underparts, and a black chest band. White outer tail is conspicuous in flight. Found in most open habitats, especially those near water. Feeds by walking along the ground, bobbing its tail constantly. Call is a buzzy “tseeei” that is often doubled. Song is a complex jumble of different repeated notes. Similar to Mountain Wagtail but has brown rather than gray upperparts, and Cape has less white in the wings and tail. Also similar to juvenile African Pied Wagtail but lacks a white panel in the wing.
Bat Hawk
Macheiramphus alcinus
An acrobatic, swift-like raptor with angular wings and a massive gape; capable of snatching prey from the air and devouring it in a flash while still on the wing. Dark with varying amounts of white on the underside; African birds have patchy white throughout the underparts, while white is restricted to the throat and lower belly on New Guinean birds and solely to the throat in Southeast Asian birds. Inactive during the day; hunts at dawn and dusk, and occasionally into the night if light is sufficient. Generally uncommon and localized, most reliably encountered near large bat roosts in forested areas, but can also be seen over open forest, fields, and fringes of habitation.
Senegal Coucal
Centropus senegalensis
Small coucal with a black cap and buffy underparts. There is a localized West African population that shows black underparts, save for a rufous belly. Found in a variety of habitats with a thick understory, including tall grassland, scrub, thickets within savanna, and forest edge. Skulks in the undergrowth, occasionally emerging to sit on an exposed perch, especially when drying out after a rainstorm. Song is a descending and accelerating series of deep “boop” notes. In the small area of overlap with Burchell’s Coucal, separated by the plain black rather than barred top of the tail. Immature has a streaked back and resembles White-browed Coucal but is more rufous below. Much smaller than Black-throated and Coppery-tailed Coucals.
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