Lesser Swallow-tailed Swift
Encyclopedia
The Lesser Swallow-tailed Swift or Cayenne Swift, Panyptila cayennensis, is a resident breeding bird
from southern Mexico
and Tobago
south to Ecuador
, eastern Peru
and Brazil
.
This small swift
is found in range of habitats including forest clearings, more open woodland, and cultivation. The nest is tubular, wider at the top, and with the entrance at its base. It is made of plant material and attached to a branch or a vertical surface. In the latter case, the entire length is fixed to the wall or trunk. Two or three white eggs are laid on a shelf in the upper part of the nest, and incubated by both parents.
The Lesser Swallow-tailed Swift is a slender species, 12.7-13 cm long, and weighing 18 g. It has long narrow wings and a long forked tail, which is usually held tightly closed. It is mainly black with a white throat and upper breast and squarish white patches on the rear flanks. The sexes are similar.
The flight is very fast and dashing, although it will glide at height in a more leisurely fashion. The flight call is a high-pitched djip-djip-djip, replaced at the nest by a chattering chee-chee-chee.
The northern race P. c. veraecrucis, which breeds from Mexico to northern Honduras
is similar to the nominate P. c. cayennensis, but slightly larger.
The Lesser Swallow-tailed Swift feeds in flight on flying insect
s, especially winged ant
s. It is less gregarious than other swifts and is usually seen as individuals or pairs. If other swift species are present it will normally feed above them, although it stays below Cypseloides species such as Chestnut-collared Swift
.
The bird is part of the folklore of Central and Northwestern South American countries (where it is known as pajaro macuá), and magical or mystical properties are attributed either to its song or its nest.
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
from southern Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and Tobago
Tobago
Tobago is the smaller of the two main islands that make up the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located in the southern Caribbean, northeast of the island of Trinidad and southeast of Grenada. The island lies outside the hurricane belt...
south to Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
, eastern Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
and Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
.
This small swift
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...
is found in range of habitats including forest clearings, more open woodland, and cultivation. The nest is tubular, wider at the top, and with the entrance at its base. It is made of plant material and attached to a branch or a vertical surface. In the latter case, the entire length is fixed to the wall or trunk. Two or three white eggs are laid on a shelf in the upper part of the nest, and incubated by both parents.
The Lesser Swallow-tailed Swift is a slender species, 12.7-13 cm long, and weighing 18 g. It has long narrow wings and a long forked tail, which is usually held tightly closed. It is mainly black with a white throat and upper breast and squarish white patches on the rear flanks. The sexes are similar.
The flight is very fast and dashing, although it will glide at height in a more leisurely fashion. The flight call is a high-pitched djip-djip-djip, replaced at the nest by a chattering chee-chee-chee.
The northern race P. c. veraecrucis, which breeds from Mexico to northern Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
is similar to the nominate P. c. cayennensis, but slightly larger.
The Lesser Swallow-tailed Swift feeds in flight on flying insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s, especially winged ant
Ant
Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than...
s. It is less gregarious than other swifts and is usually seen as individuals or pairs. If other swift species are present it will normally feed above them, although it stays below Cypseloides species such as Chestnut-collared Swift
Chestnut-collared Swift
The Chestnut-collared Swift, Streptoprocne rutila, is a resident breeding bird from Mexico and Trinidad south to Peru and Bolivia. It was one of the species of Cypseloides controversially moved to Streptoprocne by the AOU ....
.
The bird is part of the folklore of Central and Northwestern South American countries (where it is known as pajaro macuá), and magical or mystical properties are attributed either to its song or its nest.
