Antillean Palm Swift
Encyclopedia
The Antillean Palm Swift (Tachornis phoenicobia) is a small swift
. It has distinctive black-and-white markings on its underparts, rump, and throat, making it one of the most unmistakable species of swifts in North America.
The Antillean Palm Swift's diet consists mainly of insects that it takes in from the air columns or from the surface of the water. These gregarious birds form small to medium-size flocks. They breed year-round in colonies around coastal areas in the dead fronds that hang from palms. While the nesting biology of this bird is poorly known, estimated incubation period by both sexes is 18 - 21 days. The altricial
young are brooded by the female and stay in the nest for an estimated 20 - 28 days, being fed by both parents. They typically have 1 to 2 broods a year.
This species has a large range, with an estimated global extent of occurrence of 190,000 km². It is fairly common in its native range in the Caribbean
, from lowland Cuba
to the Isle of Pines
, Hispaniola
, and Jamaica
, though accidental vagrants
have been observed as far north as the Florida Keys
at least once.
Swift
The swifts are a family, Apodidae, of highly aerial birds. They are superficially similar to swallows, but are actually not closely related to passerine species at all; swifts are in the separate order Apodiformes, which they share with hummingbirds...
. It has distinctive black-and-white markings on its underparts, rump, and throat, making it one of the most unmistakable species of swifts in North America.
The Antillean Palm Swift's diet consists mainly of insects that it takes in from the air columns or from the surface of the water. These gregarious birds form small to medium-size flocks. They breed year-round in colonies around coastal areas in the dead fronds that hang from palms. While the nesting biology of this bird is poorly known, estimated incubation period by both sexes is 18 - 21 days. The altricial
Altricial
Altricial, meaning "requiring nourishment", refers to a pattern of growth and development in organisms which are incapable of moving around on their own soon after hatching or being born...
young are brooded by the female and stay in the nest for an estimated 20 - 28 days, being fed by both parents. They typically have 1 to 2 broods a year.
This species has a large range, with an estimated global extent of occurrence of 190,000 km². It is fairly common in its native range in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, from lowland Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
to the Isle of Pines
Isle of Pines
The name Isle of Pines can refer to more than one thing:* The former name for the Isle of Youth, Cuba* The Isle of Pines, an island off New Caledonia* The Isle of Pines , a book by Henry Neville....
, Hispaniola
Hispaniola
Hispaniola is a major island in the Caribbean, containing the two sovereign states of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The island is located between the islands of Cuba to the west and Puerto Rico to the east, within the hurricane belt...
, and Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
, though accidental vagrants
Vagrancy (biology)
Vagrancy is a phenomenon in biology whereby individual animals appear well outside their normal range; individual animals which exhibit vagrancy are known as vagrants. The term accidental is sometimes also used...
have been observed as far north as the Florida Keys
Florida Keys
The Florida Keys are a coral archipelago in southeast United States. They begin at the southeastern tip of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami, and extend in a gentle arc south-southwest and then westward to Key West, the westernmost of the inhabited islands, and on to the uninhabited Dry...
at least once.