White-collared swift

White-collared swift
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Apodiformes
Family:	Apodidae
Genus:	Streptoprocne
Species:	S. zonaris
Binomial name
Streptoprocne zonaris (Shaw, 1796)

The white-collared swift (Streptoprocne zonaris) is a resident breeding bird from central Mexico, the Greater Antilles and Trinidad south to Peru, northern Argentina and southeastern Brazil.

This very large swift builds a saucer nest of mud, moss and chitin on a ledge in a cave, usually behind a waterfall, and lays two white eggs between March and July. It breeds in the mountains and foothills, but forages over a much larger area, including lowlands.

White-collared swift is a massive and powerful species, 20–22 cm (8-8.8 in) long, and weighing 90-125 g (3.2-4.5 oz.) It has a very slightly forked tail, which often appears square. The adults are black, glossed blue on the back, and have a white collar, broader and duller on the breast than the hindneck. Young birds are duller than adults, and the collar is reduced or absent. This noisy swift has a screeching chee-yar! call, which may be given in chorus by a flock

This is a highly gregarious species, with flocks of 100 or more birds, and often in company with other swift species. It has a powerful, fast and direct flight, and will ascend thermals to great heights.

White-collared swift feeds in flight on flying insects, including beetles, bees and flying ants.

References

• Chantler and Driessens, Swifts ISBN 1-873403-83-6
• ffrench, Richard (1991). A Guide to the Birds of Trinidad and Tobago (2nd edition ed.). Comstock Publishing. ISBN 0-8014-9792-2. 
• Hilty, Birds of Venezuela, ISBN 0-7136-6418-5
• Stiles and Skutch, A guide to the birds of Costa Rica ISBN 0-8014-9600-4

External links

• White-collared Swift videos, photos & sounds on the Internet Bird Collection