The Tahiti swiftlet or Polynesian swiftlet (''Aerodramus leucophaeus'') is a species of

swift Swift or SWIFT most commonly refers to: * SWIFT, an international organization facilitating transactions between banks ** SWIFT code * Swift (programming language) * Swift (bird), a family of birds It may also refer to: Organizations * SWIFT ...

in the family

Apodidae 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 ...

. While often compared to the

Marquesan Swiftlet The Marquesan swiftlet (''Aerodramus ocistus'') is a species of Swift (bird), swift in the family Apodidae. It is Endemism, endemic to French Polynesia. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. References Aer ...

, this bird is often more pale faced. The subspecies is the Monotypic which means it does not include a subspecies. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...

to the

Society Islands The Society Islands (french: Îles de la Société, officially ''Archipel de la Société;'' ty, Tōtaiete mā) are an archipelago located in the South Pacific Ocean. Politically, they are part of French Polynesia, an overseas country of the F ...

French Polynesia )Territorial motto: ( en, "Great Tahiti of the Golden Haze") , anthem = , song_type = Regional anthem , song = "Ia Ora 'O Tahiti Nui" , image_map = French Polynesia on the globe (French Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of French ...

, where it occurs on

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Aust ...

and

Moorea Moorea ( or ; Tahitian: ), also spelled Moorea, is a volcanic island in French Polynesia. It is one of the Windward Islands, a group that is part of the Society Islands, northwest of Tahiti. The name comes from the Tahitian word , meaning " ...

Description

Aerodramus leucophaeus is closely related to the species of the A. Sawtelli. Characteristics include slightly short wings, forked tail, dark brown upperparts, and grey brown underparts. Birds' wings typically get shorter the closer they live to the equator, explaining why these swiflets are located closer to the Southern Island region. This is due to the fact that the bird's short wings are not equipped to travel far distances, causing the bird to remain in relatively restricted areas for most of its life. This bird is about 11 cm with a forked tail. They have a dry call with repeated intervals. The call is also heard as insect-like and trilling. The trilling sound is usually associated with high pitched sounds. Birds hear at a much quicker

frequency Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time. It is also occasionally referred to as ''temporal frequency'' for clarity, and is distinct from '' angular frequency''. Frequency is measured in hertz (Hz) which is ...

than humans, allowing them to understand this call. It has been reported that this species has some form of echolocation. Bird echolocation is limited to a lower frequency, having poorer resolution than that of echolocation in bats and other animals. This low frequency makes the echolocation audible to humans. Birds such as the swiftlet use echolocation to locate their way around dark caves and nesting locations in order to settle safely.

Diet and habitat

The Swiftlet feeds on insects, which it captures while in flight, feeding at high elevations. It prefers wet, rocky and forested valleys at high elevations, and nests either in shallow depressions with overhanging rocks, coastal cliffs or caves. Populations have been found in the Polynesian Island Moorea. They have a wide variety of nest sites: caves, depressions under coastal cliffs or rocks, and are supported using saliva. Nests were found in

Marquesas The Marquesas Islands (; french: Îles Marquises or ' or '; Marquesan: ' (North Marquesan) and ' (South Marquesan), both meaning "the land of men") are a group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in ...

. Marquesa is a volcanic island located in

. The climate of the Society Islands is hot and humid between the months of November and April, but cool and dry through the remaining months of the year. The island of Moorea consists of jagged peaks and includes a large mountain range made up of ancient volcanoes.

Conservation

Currently this species is not

globally Globalization, or globalisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is the process of interaction and integration among people, companies, and governments worldwide. The term ''globalization'' first appeared in the early 20t ...

threatened. They are classified as vulnerable, but stable. This is due to

predation Predation is a biological interaction In ecology, a biological interaction is the effect that a pair of organisms living together in a community have on each other. They can be either of the same species (intraspecific interactions), or o ...

on eggs. It is typical of this species to lay two eggs at a time. Nests of this species are made with

vegetable Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems ...

matter and held together by saliva. This species remains rare, surviving in only a few valleys and continue to be a priority to conserve. They are mostly found in flocks, (up to 100). Total population estimate of 200–500 birds in 1984 and currently still thought to number fewer than 1000 individuals of which the most important

subpopulation In statistics, a population is a set of similar items or events which is of interest for some question or experiment. A statistical population can be a group of existing objects (e.g. the set of all stars within the Milky Way galaxy) or a hypot ...

(100 birds) is in Papehue Valley.

References

External links

BirdLife Species Factsheet.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1265632 Aerodramus Endemic birds of French Polynesia Endemic birds of Tahiti Birds described in 1848 Least concern biota of Oceania Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxa named by Titian Peale