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Australian Wildlife

  Uniform Swiftlet (Aerodramus vanikorensis)





Uniform Swiftlet | Aerodramus vanikorensis photo
Uniform Swiftlet (Aerodramus vanikorensis) ssp Aerodramus vanikorensis steini Biak, Papua, Indonesia

Image by Lip Kee Yap - Some rights reserved.    (view image details)







UNIFORM SWIFTLET FACTS

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.

distribution map showing range of Aerodramus vanikorensis in Australia

Credits:
Map is from Atlas of Living Australia website at https://biocache.ala.org.au licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.



Classification
Class:Aves
Order:Passeriformes
Family:Apodidae
Genus:Aerodramus
Species:vanikorensis
Common Name:Uniform Swiftlet