African Palm-swift (Cypsiurus parvus)

Other Names (World)
African Palm-Swift, Palm Swift, Madagascar Palm-swift (gracilis), African Palm Swift

Family
Apodidae (Swifts)

Size
11.50 cm

First Described (Guide)
(Lichtenstein, 1823)

Habitat
Subtropical and tropical dry forest, dry savanna. From sea-level - 1,800 m.

Range (Guide)

Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo [The Democratic Republic of the], Congo [The Democratic Republic of the], C�te dIvoire, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi (B) (NB), Mali, Mauritania, Mayotte, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, S�o Tom� e Principe (B), Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania [United Republic of], Togo, Uganda, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Vagrant to Djibouti.

Rarity Status
Currently this species is not classified as a rarity in this country OR information has not been updated.

Population
Estimated population is unknown (2010).

Status LC
For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Voice
Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (44)...)

African Palm Swift (Cypsiurus parvus) [XC881054]
by id from Al Aridhah, Al Aridah, Jazan Province, Saudi Arabia (song)

African Palm Swift (Cypsiurus parvus) [XC522961]
by Dawie de Swardt from Masvingo, Masvingo Province, Zimbabwe (flight call)

Subspecies
Forms superspecies with Asian Palm-swift (Cypsiurus balasiensis), with which previously considered conspecific. Subspecies gracilis (with griveaudi) may prove to be a distinct species.

The following 8 subspecies are recognised:

parvus (Lichtenstein, 1823) - Senegambia to Ethiopia, south to southern Sudan. Also south-western Arabia.
brachypterus (Reichenow, 1903) - Sierra Leone to north-eastern Zaire, south to Angola; islands in Gulf of Guinea.
myochrous (Reichenow, 1886) - Southern Sudan to north-eastern South Africa (Transvaal), preferring highlands.
laemostigma (Reichenow, 1905) - Coastal lowlands from southern Somalia to Mozambique.
hyphaenes Brooke, 1972 - Northern Namibia and northern Botswana.
celer Clancey, 1983 - Mozambique to Natal.
griveaudi Benson, 1960 - Comoro Is. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Malagasy Palm Swift (Cypsiurus gracilis).
gracilis (Sharpe, 1871) - Madagascar. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Malagasy Palm Swift (Cypsiurus gracilis).

References
See References.

Files:

JPG files for African Palm-swift (Cypsiurus parvus) - 10 files

More Information

BirdLife International

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BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

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