Phylum Chordata Rank Species | Family Apodidae Higher classification Collocalia | |
Similar Collocalia, Black‑nest swiftlet, Cave swiftlet, Uniform swiftlet, Pygmy swiftlet | ||
Glossy swiftlets at their nests at the mouth of gomantong cave sabah
The glossy swiftlet (Collocalia esculenta) is a species of swift in the family Apodidae. It is found in Australia, Brunei, Christmas Island, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore, Andaman Islands, Solomon Islands, Thailand, and Vanuatu.
Contents
- Glossy swiftlets at their nests at the mouth of gomantong cave sabah
- Glossy swiftlets collocalia esculenta
- Description
- Behaviour
- Distribution
- Status
- References
Glossy swiftlets collocalia esculenta
Description
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.
Behaviour
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.
Glossy swiftlets have been considered as possible foster parents for restoring the population of the endangered edible-nest swiftlet in the Andaman Islands.
Distribution
The glossy swiftlet is known from India, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, 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.
Status
The glossy swiftlet has a very large range and is reported as being abundant in at least part of the range. It faces no particular threats, and as a result, the IUCN has listed it as being of "Least Concern".