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Uniform Swiftlet (Aerodramus vanikorensis) ssp Aerodramus vanikorensis steini Biak, Papua, Indonesia
Image by Lip Kee Yap - Some rights reserved.
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UNIFORM SWIFTLET FACTS
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Description
The Uniform Swiftlet is a medium-sized swiftlet with a shallowly forked tail. The bird is dark grey-brown above, and lighter grey-brown below, with paler chin and throat. It is a gregarious bird that forages in groups and nests in colonies in caves.
Other Names
Vanikoro Swiftlet, Lowland Swiftlet
Size
Length: 13cm. Wingspan: 27cm. Weight: about 11g
Habitat
lowland forests and open areas.
Food
flying insects
Breeding
The Uniform Swiftlet nests in colonies in caves. The birds use echolocation to navigate, like bats. The nest is a shallow cup made from moss and saliva, attached to a vertical cave wall in the darkness of a cave. A clutch contains one or two white eggs.
Range
The Uniform Swiftlet is widespread from the Philippines through to New Guinea and Melanesia. It is a rare vagrant to northern Australia, with records from Cape York Peninsula and Torres Strait islands.
Classification
| Class: | Aves | | Order: | Passeriformes | | Family: | Apodidae | | Genus: | Aerodramus | | Species: | vanikorensis | | Common Name: | Uniform Swiftlet |
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