Uniform Swiftlet (Aerodramus vanikorensis)

Other Names (World)
Uniform Swiftlet, Grey Swiftlet, Gray Swiftlet, Philippine Swiftlet, Island Swiftlet, Palawan Swiftlet, Lowland Swiftlet, Vanikoro Swiftlet, Mossy-nest Swiftlet, Ameline Swiftlet (amelis, incorporating palawanensis)

Family
Apodidae (Swifts)

Size
12 - 13 cm

First Described (Guide)
(Quoy & Gaimard, 1830)

Derivation
Coll-o-cal'-i-a -Gk, colla, glue; Gk, calia, nest: vanikorensis - N.L., of Vanikoro Island, Santa Cruz Group

Abundance (Guide)
UC

Common and widespread across northern islands, rare vagrant in Australia.

Habitat
Airspace over coastal lowlands. Woodlands, settlements, cultivated land.

Range (Guide)

Indonesia, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu.

Vagrant to Australia.

Vagrant to Cape York Peninsula.

Rarity Status
View Rarity Status Information

Population
Estimated population is unknown (2010).

Status LC
For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Voice
Soft, twittering sounds.

Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (8)...)

Uniform Swiftlet (Aerodramus vanikorensis) [XC244500]
by Frank Lambert from Garu, West New Britain Province, Papua New Guinea (flight call)

Uniform Swiftlet (Aerodramus vanikorensis) [XC209657]
by Todd Mark from Nimbokrang, Papua, Indonesia (flight call)

Breeding Season (Guide)
Does not breed in Australia.

Subspecies
Forms superspecies with Mossy-nest Swiftlet (Aerodramus salangana), Palau Swiftlet (Aerodramus pelewensis), Mariana Swiftlet (Aerodramus bartschi) and Caroline Swiftlet (Aerodramus inquietus). All were formerly considered conspecific.

Nominate vanikorensis, visiting Queensland.

The following 14 subspecies are recognised:

amelis (Oberholser, 1906) - Luzon, Mindoro, Cebu, Bohol and Mindanao (eastern Philippines). Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Ameline Swiftlet (Collocalia amelis).
palawanensis (Stresemann, 1914) - Palawan (south-western Philippines). Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Palawan Swiftlet (Aerodramus palawanensis).
aenigma (Riley, 1918) - Central Sulawesi.
heinrichi (Stresemann, 1932) - Southern Sulawesi.
moluccarum (Stresemann, 1914) - Seram, Ambon, Banda, Gorong, Tayandu and Kai Is (southern Moluccas).
waigeuensis (Stresemann & Paludan, 1932) - Northern Moluccas (Morotai, Halmahera) and western Papuan Is (Misool, Batanta, Waigeo and probably Salawati).
steini (Stresemann & Paludan, 1932) - Biak and Numfor (in Geelvink Bay, north-western New Guinea).
yorki (Mathews, 1916) - Aru Is, New Guinea and D'Entrecasteaux Is.
tagulae (Mayr, 1937) - Louisiade Archipelago, Trobriand Is and Woodlark I.
coultasi (Mayr, 1937) - Admiralty Is (Manus, Rambutyo, Los Negros) and St Matthias group.
pallens (Salomonsen, 1983) - New Hanover, New Ireland and nearby Djaul I, and New Britain.
lihirensis (Mayr, 1937) - Nuguria and Hibernian Is, Tabar Is, Lihir group and Feni Is (east of New Ireland).
lugubris (Salomonsen, 1983) - Solomon Is.
vanikorensis (Quoy & Gaimard, 1830) - Santa Cruz Is (including Duff Is and Swallow Is) and Vanuatu.

Similar Species
Glossy Swiftlet (Collocalia esculenta) which has paler underparts.

Compare Images

References
See References.

The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9

Files:

JPG files for Uniform Swiftlet (Aerodramus vanikorensis) - 10 files

More Information

BirdLife International

For more information about the Uniform Swiftlet see... Show Articles

BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Articles about the Uniform Swiftlet

If you would like to read any articles about the Uniform Swiftlet...

Show Articles (0)

No Pictures of Uniform Swiftlet

If Birdpedia has no pictures of Uniform Swiftlet or you would like to see more, then try the following...

Show External Images from BING

From BING (5)

No Videos of Uniform Swiftlet

If Birdpedia has no videos of Uniform Swiftlet or you would like to see more, then try the following..

Show External Videos

From BING (0)

Where can I observe this species?

Select an area (or leave blank) to see locations where this species has been recorded.

Area

All

Optional: Complete the following if you wish to restrict the reserve to within a given distance of a location.

Please enter the Latitude and Longitiude of a given location together with the maximum distance (km) to display a list of reserves within that distance. You must enter a Latitude, a Longitude and a distance greater than 0.

Latitude: (Decimal degrees takes precedence)

Deg	Min	Sec			Decimal degrees (Include compass setting or value)
				or	GPS help

Longitude: (Decimal degrees takes precedence)

Deg	Min	Sec			Decimal degrees (Include compass setting or value)
				or	Find GPS using Google Maps

Distance	Bearing
		Get Sample GPS readings

On What Field Trips was this species observed?

Select an area (or leave blank), and a date range, to see field trips on which this species has been recorded.

Area

All

From	To

Latitude: (Decimal degrees takes precedence)

Deg	Min	Sec			Decimal degrees (Include compass setting or value)
				or	GPS help

Longitude: (Decimal degrees takes precedence)

Deg	Min	Sec			Decimal degrees (Include compass setting or value)
				or

Distance	Bearing
		Get Sample GPS readings

Latest Sightings for Uniform Swiftlet