- Collocalia affinis
Identification
9–10 cm (3½-4 in) A small swiftlet with square tail.
Similar Species
Can be easily separate from similar looking Edible-nest Swiftlet and Black-nest Swiftlet by the whitish belly/vent and all black upperparts without any pale rump-band.
Distribution
From Andamans, Nicobars, and Malay Peninsula south through Sumatra and offshore islands like Nias, Batu Islands and Mentawi Islands.
Taxonomy
Formerly included in Glossy Swiftlet.
Subspecies
Roosting, subspecies cyanoptila
Photo © by RogerioRodrigues
Gomantong Cave & forest reserve, Sabah, Borneo, January 2018
Photo © by RogerioRodrigues
Gomantong Cave & forest reserve, Sabah, Borneo, January 2018
Five subspecies recognized[1]:
- C. a. affinis: Andaman and Nicobar Islands
- C. a. elachyptera: Mergui Archipelago (off Myanmar)
- C. a. cyanoptila: Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and satellite islands and lowland Borneo
- C. a. vanderbilti Nias Island (off western Sumatra)
- C. a. oberholseri: Batu Islands and Mentawi Islands (off western Sumatra)
Habitat
Recorded over different habitats, often in humid areas and often around human settlements. Forest, forest edge, cultivated land, villages and towns.
Behaviour
Subspecies affinis, trapped in a spider web
Photo © by darwin1601
Telecom loop, Fraser's hill, Malaysia, May 2018
Photo © by darwin1601
Telecom loop, Fraser's hill, Malaysia, May 2018
Diet
They feed at heights up to 68 m.
Breeding
Movements
Resident.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved Feb 2018)
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2021) Plume-toed Swiftlet. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 29 April 2021 from https://www.birdforum.net/wiki/Plume-toed_Swiftlet
