The pygmy swiftlet (''Collocalia troglodytes'') 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 * SWIF ...

in the family

Apodidae The Apodidae, or swifts, form a family 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 along with hummingbirds. The treeswifts ar ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...

to the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. Its natural

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

is tropical moist lowland

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

s. At under , it is the world's smallest swift. It weighs only 5 grams.

Description and taxonomy

Ebird describes this species " A tiny, common swiftlet found over lowland forest. Gray below with a paler belly, a darker throat, and dark patches on the underside of the base of the forewing. Black above with a distinctive white band on the rump. Tail square, and dark under the base. Nests in caves, where it uses echolocation. Similar to Gray-rumped Swiftlet, but Pygmy is slightly smaller, with a cleaner white rump band. Gives grating calls in flight." This species is monotypic.

Ecology and behavior

It feeds small insects in flight. Forms small groups when foraging. Swiftlets that nest in complete darkness in caves can use echolocation, the ability to position an object by reflected sound, used by other animals such as dolphins and bats. Breeding season varies per island but usually within the window from May to September

Habitat and conservation

This is a lowland species thats mostly found near forest and bodies of water.

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the stat ...

has assessed this species as a

least-concern species A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...

as it has a large range and is common. However, it has a declining population due to deforestation from

land conversion Land development is the alteration of landscape in any number of ways, such as: * Changing landforms from a natural or semi-natural state for a purpose such as agriculture or housing * Subdividing real estate into lots, typically for the purpo ...

Illegal logging Illegal logging is the harvest, transportation, purchase, or sale of timber in violation of laws. The harvesting procedure itself may be illegal, including using corrupt means to gain access to forests; extraction without permission, or from a p ...

and slash-and-burn farming.

References

* Price, J. J., Johnson, K. P., & Clayton, D. H. (2004). The Evolution of echolocation in Swiftlets. Journal of Avian Biology 35(2), 135–143. doi: 10.1111/j.0908-8857.2004.03182.x * Thomassen, H. A., Den Tex, R., De Bakker, M., & Povel, G. (2005). Phylogenetic relationship among Swifts and Swiflets . Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 37(1), 264–277. doi: 10.1016/j.ympev.2005.05.010

pygmy swiftlet The pygmy swiftlet (''Collocalia troglodytes'') is a species of Swift (bird), swift in the family Apodidae. It is Endemism, endemic to the Philippines. Its natural habitat is tropical moist lowland forests. At under , it is the world's smallest ...

Endemic birds of the Philippines

Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{apodiformes-stub