| Mariana swiftlet | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Clade: | Strisores |
| Order: | Apodiformes |
| Family: | Apodidae |
| Genus: | Aerodramus |
| Species: | A. bartschi |
| Binomial name | |
| Aerodramus bartschi (Mearns, 1909) | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
The Mariana swiftlet or Guam swiftlet (Aerodramus bartschi) is a species of swiftlet in the family Apodidae.
It was formerly lumped with the island swiftlet (Aerodramus inquietus). [2]
The swiftlet is about 11 centimetres (4.3 in) in length with a dark grey-brown head and upperparts. Its throat and upper breast are grey-white with the rest of the underparts darker grey. The tail has a shallow fork and the plumage lacks gloss. [2]
The swiftlet is found in Guam as well as in Saipan and Aguiguan in the Northern Mariana Islands, and is locally extinct on Rota and Tinian. It was also introduced successfully to Oahu in the Hawaiian Islands in the early 1960s, though the population there remains small. [3] Its natural habitats are tropical moist lowland forest, mangrove forest and grassland. [2]
In its natural range the swiftlet builds shallow nests high on the interior walls and ceilings of limestone caves, including sites in zones of complete darkness, in colonies of a few to several hundred birds. A single egg constitutes a clutch, but the birds may breed more than once a year. The swiftlets utter twittering and chirping sounds as well as the echolocation clicks used to navigate inside the nesting and roosting caves. Most birds in a colony leave their cave at dawn to forage, returning at sunset to roost. They are aerial feeders that capture small insects in flight over forest and other vegetation. [2] [3]
The Mariana swiftlet is considered to be Vulnerable [1] after being listed as an Endangered in 2016. [2] The population on Guam declined because of predation by brown tree snakes and the use of agricultural pesticides, though it is believed to have subsequently increased to an estimated 900 individuals in 2006. The population on Saipan was estimated in 2005 to consist of about 5400 individuals, though this population is at risk if the brown tree snake becomes established on the island. The estimated size of the Aguiguan population is about 400. The single known breeding colony on Oahu was estimated in 1997 to contain a minimum of 17 breeding pairs. Proposed conservation measures include continued population monitoring and limiting cave disturbance, the prevention of the establishment of brown tree snakes in the Northern Marianas Islands, control of introduced mud dauber wasps and cockroaches where they damage nests, and the reintroduction of birds to Rota whence they were extirpated in the 1970s. [2] [3]
The swifts are a family, Apodidae, of highly aerial birds. They are superficially similar to swallows, but are not closely related to any passerine species. Swifts are placed in the order Apodiformes with hummingbirds. The treeswifts are closely related to the true swifts, but form a separate family, the Hemiprocnidae.
Swiftlets are birds from the four genera Aerodramus, Collocalia, Hydrochous and Schoutedenapus, which form the tribe Collocaliini within the swift family Apodidae. The group contains around thirty species mostly confined to southern Asia, south Pacific islands, and northeastern Australia, all within the tropical and subtropical regions. They are in many respects typical members of the Apodidae, having narrow wings for fast flight, with a wide gape and small reduced beak surrounded by bristles for catching insects in flight. What distinguishes many but not all species from other swifts and indeed almost all other birds is their ability to use a simple but effective form of echolocation to navigate in total darkness through the chasms and shafts of the caves where they roost at night and breed.
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 were formerly classified in Collocalia, but were first placed in a separate genus by American ornithologist Harry Church Oberholser in 1906.
The Mariana mallard or Oustalet's duck is an extinct species of duck of the genus Anas that was endemic to the Mariana Islands. Its taxonomic status is debated, and it has variously been treated as a full species, a subspecies of the mallard or of the Pacific black duck, or sometimes as a subspecies of the Indian spot-billed duck.
The Guam rail is a species of flightless bird in the Rallidae family, endemic to the United States territory of Guam. It is known locally as the ko'ko' bird. It was extirpated from the entire island by the late 1980s owing to the predation of the brown tree snake, an invasive species not native to the island.
The Micronesian megapode or Micronesian scrubfowl is an endangered megapode which inhabits islands of the Western Pacific Ocean.
The uniform swiftlet,, also known as the Vanikoro swiftlet or lowland swiftlet, is a gregarious, medium-sized swiftlet with a shallowly forked tail. The colouring is dark grey-brown, darker on the upperparts with somewhat paler underparts, especially on chin and throat. This species is widespread from the Philippines through Wallacea, New Guinea and Melanesia. It forages for flying insects primarily in lowland forests and open areas. It nests in caves where it uses its sense of echolocation, rare in birds, to navigate.
The Mariana crow is a species of the crow family from the tropical Western Pacific. It is a glossy black bird about 15 inches (38 cm) long and known only from the islands of Guam and Rota.
The Himalayan swiftlet is a small swift. It is a common colonial breeder in the Himalayas and Southeast Asia. Some populations are migratory.
The Seychelles swiftlet is a small bird of the swift family. It is found only in the Seychelles Islands in the Indian Ocean.
The edible-nest swiftlet, also known as the white-nest swiftlet, is a small bird of the swift family which is found in Southeast Asia. Its opaque and whitish bird nest is made exclusively of solidified saliva and is the main ingredient of bird's nest soup, a delicacy of Chinese cuisine.
Germain's swiftlet is a species of swift.
The mountain swiftlet is a species of swift in the family Apodidae. It is endemic to the island of New Guinea and the nearby islands of Karkar, Yapen and Goodenough. It was once placed in the genus Collocalia but has been moved, with many others, to Aerodramus. The species is divided into three subspecies, with the nominate, A. h. hirundinacea ranging over most of New Guinea, the subspecies A. h. excelsus occurring over 1600 m in the Snow Mountains and Cartenz peaks of Irian Jaya and A. h. baru being restricted to Yapen Island. It occurs in alpine areas from 500 m to the treeline. Its natural habitat is tropical moist montane forests and other mountainous habitats in New Guinea. It also occurs in lower numbers in the lowlands near hills.
The Tahiti swiftlet or Polynesian swiftlet is a species of swift in the family Apodidae. While often compared to the Marquesan Swiftlet, this bird is often more pale faced. The subspecies is the Monotypic which means it does not include a subspecies.
The cave swiftlet or linchi swiftlet is a species of swift in the family Apodidae. It is found on the Indonesia islands of Sumatra, Java and Bali. It is a woodland species and nests in caves. The Bornean swiftlet was considered a subspecies, but is now usually considered distinct.
The golden white-eye is a species of bird in the white-eye family, Zosteropidae. It is the only species within the genus Cleptornis. The golden white-eye was once considered to be a honeyeater in the family Meliphagidae and although it is now known to be a white-eye, its position within that family is still uncertain. The species is restricted to the islands of Saipan and Aguijan in the Northern Mariana Islands, where it is sympatric and competes with the related bridled white-eye. The golden white-eye has golden plumage and a pale eye-ring. It feeds on insects, fruit, and nectar and forages in pairs or small family groups. The bird is monogamous and lays two eggs in a small cup nest.
The bridled white-eye is a species of white-eye native to the Mariana Islands and formerly Guam. The species' natural habitat is tropical forests, shrublands and urban areas.
The volcano swiftlet is a species of bird in the family Apodidae formerly considered conspecific with the Himalayan swiftlet. It is endemic to several sites in western Java in Indonesia.
The Marianas tropical dry forests is a tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests ecoregion on the Marianas Islands in the western Pacific Ocean.
