Aerodramus (1 Viewer)

Rheindt, F. E., J. A. Norman & L. Christidis, 2014. Extensive diversification across islands in the echolocating Aerodramus swiftlets. Raffles Bull. Zool. 62: 89-99.

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Should have been in this thread: http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=260133&highlight=swiftlets

Alice Cibois, Jean-Claude Thibault, Gerald McCormack & Eric Pasquet. Phylogenetic relationships of the Eastern Polynesian swiftlets (Aerodramus, Apodidae) and considerations on other Western Pacific swiftlets. Emu - Austral Ornithology Vol. 0, Iss. 0, 2018

Abstract:

The patterns of colonisation and phylogenetic relationships of the swiftlets from Oceania, and in particular from the remotest archipelagos of Polynesia, remain a puzzle. In this study we used mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequence data to infer the colonisation patterns of swiftlets endemic to Eastern Polynesia. The three endemic taxa did not form a monophyletic group. The Tahiti Swiftlet (Aerodramus leucophaeus) and the Marquesan Swiftlet (A. ocistus) were closely related to the group formed by the Himalayan Swiftlet (A. brevirostris) and the two Indian Ocean species, Seychelles Swiftlet (A. elaphrus) and Mascarene Swiftlet (A. francicus). The third taxon from Eastern Polynesia, the Atiu Swiftlet (A. sawtelli) from the Cook Islands, forms a group with the Mariana Swiftlet (A. bartschi), and the Uniform Swiftlet (A. vanikorensis), a widely distributed species, from the Philippines to Melanesia. Thus the colonisation of the remotest areas of Oceania by swiftlets occurred through long-distance events, as opposed to a regular, stepping-stone pattern from the west to the east. These results add to the body of evidence suggesting that Eastern Polynesia constituted a ‘sink’, from which birds did not come back to recolonise western islands.

Aerodramus francicus saffordi subsp. nov.

Guy M. Kirwan, Hadoram Shirihai and Manuel Schweizer. A morphological revision of Mascarene Swiftlet Aerodramus francicus, with the description of a new subspecies from Reunion. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club, Volume 138 Issue 2 pg(s) 117–130.

Abstract:

In light of speculation in the recent literature concerning the species' intraspecific taxonomy and personal observations, we examined specimens of the Mascarene Swiftlet Aerodramus francicus from both range islands, Mauritius and Reunion, with the aim of documenting any geographical variation in morphology. We found that specimens from Reunion clearly differ from those collected on Mauritius (the type locality) in multiple plumage and biometric characters, and that at least some of these differences are also visible in the field. As a result, we describe the Reunion population as a new subspecies under the Biological Species Concept. Taken together, these insular forms are treated by BirdLife International as Near Threatened, but the declining nominotypical Mauritian population might require a reassessment of its conservation status according to IUCN criteria should future taxonomic research applying an integrative approach indicate that species rank is more appropriate.

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Aerodramus francicus saffordi is the first taxon named after Roger Safford.