Swift

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For other uses, see Swift (disambiguation).
iSwifts
Chimney Swift
Chimney Swift
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Apodiformes
Family: Apodidae
Hartert, 1897
Genera

Many; see text.

The swifts are birds superficially similar to swallows but are actually not closely related to those passerine species at all; swifts are in the separate order Apodiformes, which they formerly shared with the hummingbirds.

The resemblances between the swifts and swallows are due to convergent evolution reflecting similar life styles based on catching insects in flight.

The family scientific name comes from the Greek απους, apous, meaning "without feet", since swifts have very short legs and never settle voluntarily on the ground, perching instead on vertical surfaces. The tradition of depicting swifts without feet continued into the Middle Ages, as seen in the heraldic martlet.

Swifts are the most aerial of birds and some, like the Common Swift, even sleep and mate on the wing. Larger species, such as white-throated needletail, are amongst the fastest flyers in the animal kingdom. One group, the Swiftlets or Cave Swiftlets have developed a form of echolocation for navigating through dark cave systems where they roost. One species, Aerodramus papuensis has recently been discovered to use this navigation at night outside its cave roost also.

Like swallows and martins, the swifts of temperate regions are strongly migratory and winter in the tropics.

Many swifts have a characteristic shape, with a short forked tail and very long swept-back wings that resemble a crescent or a boomerang. The flight of some species is characterised by a distinctive "flicking" action quite different from swallows.

The nest of many species is glued to a vertical surface with saliva, and the genus Aerodramus use only that substance, which is the basis for bird's nest soup.

[edit] Systematics and evolution

The treeswifts are closely related to the true swifts, but form a separate family, the Hemiprocnidae.

In the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy, the old order Apodiformes is split. Swifts remain in that order, but hummingbirds are put into a new order, Trochiliformes. Given the discovery of the Jungornithidae which were apparently swift-like hummingbird relatives, and of primitive hummingbirds such as Eurotrochilus, this seems hardly warranted.

The taxonomy of this group is in general complicated, with genus and species boundaries widely disputed, especially amongst the swiftlets. Analysis of behavior and vocalizations is marred by common parallel evolution, while analyses of different morphological traits and of various DNA sequences have yielded equivocal and partly contradictory results (Thomassen et al., 2005).

The Apodiformes diversified during the Eocene, at the end of which the extant families were present; fossil genera are known from all over temperate Europe, between today's Denmark and France, such as the primitive Scaniacypselus (Early - Middle Eocene) and the more modern Procypseloides (Late Eocene/Early Oligocene - Early Miocene). A prehistoric genus sometimes assigned to the swifts, Primapus (Early Eocene of England), might also be a more distant ancestor.


[edit] Species list: Family Apodidae

Tribe Cypseloidini

  • Genus Cypseloides
    • Chestnut-collared Swift, Cypseloides rutilus
    • Tepui Swift, Cypseloides phelpsi
    • Black Swift, Cypseloides niger
    • White-chested Swift, Cypseloides lemosi
    • Rothschild's Swift, Cypseloides rothschildi
    • Sooty Swift, Cypseloides fumigatus
    • Spot-fronted Swift, Cypseloides cherriei
    • White-chinned Swift, Cypseloides cryptus
    • White-fronted Swift, Cypseloides storeri
    • Great Dusky Swift, Cypseloides senex

Tribe Collocalini - swiftlets

  • Genus Collocalia
    • Glossy Swiftlet, Collocalia esculenta
      • Grey-rumped Swiftlet, Collocalia (esculenta) marginata
    • Cave Swiftlet, Collocalia linchi
    • Pygmy Swiftlet, Collocalia troglodytes
  • Genus Aerodramus
    • Seychelles Swiftlet, Aerodramus elaphrus
    • Mascarene Swiftlet, Aerodramus francicus
    • Indian Swiftlet, Aerodramus unicolor
    • Philippine Swiftlet, Aerodramus mearnsi
    • Moluccan Swiftlet, Aerodramus infuscatus
    • Mountain Swiftlet, Aerodramus hirundinaceus
    • White-rumped Swiftlet, Aerodramus spodiopygius
    • Australian Swiftlet, Aerodramus terraereginae
    • Himalayan Swiftlet, Aerodramus brevirostris
    • Indochinese Swiftlet, Aerodramus rogersi
    • Volcano Swiftlet, Aerodramus vulcanorum
    • Whitehead's Swiftlet, Aerodramus whiteheadi
    • Bare-legged Swiftlet, Aerodramus nuditarsus
    • Mayr's Swiftlet, Aerodramus orientalis
    • Palawan Swiftlet, Aerodramus palawanensis
    • Mossy-nest Swiftlet, Aerodramus salangana
    • Uniform Swiftlet, Aerodramus vanikorensis
    • Palau Swiftlet, Aerodramus pelewensis
    • Guam Swiftlet, Aerodramus bartschi
    • Caroline Islands Swiftlet, Aerodramus inquietus
    • Mangaia Swiftlet, Aerodramus manuoi (prehistoric)
    • Atiu Swiftlet, Aerodramus sawtelli
    • Polynesian Swiftlet, Aerodramus leucophaeus
    • Marquesan Swiftlet, Aerodramus ocistus
    • Black-nest Swiftlet, Aerodramus maximus
    • Edible-nest Swiftlet, Aerodramus fuciphagus
    • German's Swiftlet, Aerodramus germani
    • Papuan Swiftlet, Aerodramus papuensis (probably a distinct genus)
  • Genus Hydrochous
    • Waterfall Swift, Hydrochous gigas
  • Genus Schoutedenapus
    • Scarce Swift, Schoutedenapus myoptilus
    • Schouteden's Swift, Schoutedenapus schoutedeni

Tribe Chaeturini - needletails

  • Genus Mearnsia
    • Philippine Spinetail, Mearnsia picina
    • Papuan Spinetail, Mearnsia novaeguineae
  • Genus Zoonavena
    • Malagasy Spinetail, Zoonavena grandidieri
    • Sao Tome Spinetail, Zoonavena thomensis
    • White-rumped Needletail, Zoonavena sylvatica
  • Genus Telacanthura
    • Mottled Spinetail, Telacanthura ussheri
    • Black Spinetail, Telacanthura melanopygia
  • Genus Rhaphidura
    • Silver-rumped Needletail, Rhaphidura leucopygialis
    • Sabine's Spinetail, Rhaphidura sabini
  • Genus Neafrapus
    • Cassin's Spinetail, Neafrapus cassini
    • Bat-like Spinetail, Neafrapus boehmi

Tribe Apodini - typical swifts

  • Genus Aeronautes
    • White-throated Swift, Aeronautes saxatalis
    • White-tipped Swift, Aeronautes montivagus
    • Andean Swift, Aeronautes andecolus
  • Genus Tachornis
    • Tachornis uranoceles (fossil; Late Pleistocene of Puerto Rico)
    • Antillean Palm Swift, Tachornis phoenicobia
    • Pygmy Swift, Tachornis furcata
    • Fork-tailed Palm Swift, Tachornis squamata

[edit] References

  • Chantler, Phil & Driessens, Gerald (2000): Swifts : a guide to the swifts and treeswifts of the world. Pica Press, Mountfield, East Sussex. ISBN 1-873403-83-6
  • Thomassen, Henri A.; Tex, Robert-Jan; Bakker, Merijn A.G. & Povel, G. David E. (2005): Phylogenetic relationships amongst swifts and swiftlets: A multi locus approach. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 37(1): 264-277. DOI:10.1016/j.ympev.2005.05.010 (HTML abstract)
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