Glossy Swiftlet
Collocalia esculenta
A tiny swift with glossy upperparts (many forms showing a greenish-blue tinge), a white belly, and a bat-like, fluttering flight action. Some forms show a white rump. Occurs over most habitats throughout range, often within flocks that regularly mix with other swiftlet species. Away from nesting colonies, always seen in flight. Smaller and shorter-winged than Uniform, Papuan, Bare-legged, Mayr’s, Mountain, and White-rumped Swiftlets. Further distinguished from those species and from Edible-nest, Sulawesi, Seram, and Halmahera Swiftlets by white belly and flight action.
Identification
This bird is shiny black-blue above, including its rump; sometimes looks black and hooded. Chest black; belly to flanks white with fine black speckles at margins. Wing tips are rounded; underwing is black. Tail rounded with shallow notch and tiny white panels. It is so similar to the white-rumped swiftlet that both its upperparts and underparts must be seen to distinguish between the two. It is 9 to 11.5 cm (3.5 to 4.5 in) in length. Its voice is a soft twittering.
Taxonomy
The glossy swiftlet was described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Hirundo esculenta. The type locality is Ambon Island, one of the Maluku Islands of Indonesia. The specific epithet esculenta is from esculentus the Latin word for "edible".<p>There are 17 recognised subspecies:<p>Seven taxa that are now recognised as species were previously considered as subspecies of the glossy swiftlet. They were raised to species status based on a detailed analysis of the swiftlets in the genus Collocalia published in 2017. The promoted taxa are:
- Scientific name
- Collocalia esculenta
- Authority
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Order
- Apodiformes
- Family
- Apodidae
- Genus
- Collocalia
Range and habitat
The glossy swiftlet is known from Indonesia, Timor, Brunei, Christmas Island, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia. It is a vagrant to Australia. It is not a migrant.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The glossy swiftlet nests inside caves and buildings, creating a nest on a vertical or under a horizontal surface by secreting a sticky gel and attaching a kind of string-like grass to the surface. It is seen flying over forests, streams, rivers and roads catching insects in flight.<p>Glossy swiftlets have been considered as possible foster parents for restoring the population of the endangered edible-nest swiftlet in the Andaman Islands.
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Eurasian Blackbird
Turdus merula
Adult male distinctive: glossy black overall with bright yellow bill and eyering. Female dark brown overall; slightly paler throat and breast often have faint darker spots and streaks. Juvenile in summer brown overall with pale spots on back, spotted breast; first-year male duller black than adult, with duller yellowish bill. Can be found in wooded habitats, parks, gardens, and farmland with hedges; often feeds in fields and on lawns. Rich caroling song often heard in urban and suburban neighborhoods with trees and hedges. A native of Eurasia and North Africa, introduced to southeastern Australia, New Zealand, and a few surrounding islands.
Ryukyu Robin
Larvivora komadori
Rather tame songbird of shady subtropical broadleaf forests. Breeds in the northern Ryukyu Islands, with some migrating to the southern Ryukyu Islands. Bright rufous-orange above, whitish below, with a black throat, breast, and flanks in the male. Pumps the tail and flutters wings regularly, much like other robins. Most readily seen on hiking trails beside streams during the earlier hours of the day. Gives high-pitched calls and beautiful whistled songs.
White-browed Fantail
Rhipidura aureola
Fantail with a broad white eyebrow, dark upperparts, and white underparts. Crown and ear-coverts black, contrasting with white eyebrows. Throat mottled black-and-white. Pair of wingbars formed by well-separated white teardrop-shaped spots. Female slightly paler with a browner head. Immature like adult, but has rufous tips to dark feathers of upperparts. Frequent song is a 4- to 7-note melodious whistling phrase that ascends and then sometimes descends or is left incomplete. Contact call is a harsh “switch-wich.” Inhabits dry, open wooded habitats, ranging from dry deciduous forest to scrubby agricultural edges.
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