White-breasted swift
| White-breasted swift | ||||||||||||
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White-breasted swift |
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| Aeronautes saxatalis | ||||||||||||
| ( Woodhouse , 1853) |
The white-breasted swift ( Aeronautes saxatalis ) is a medium-sized species from the bird family of the sailors (Apodidae).
description
The 15 to 18 centimeter tall bird has dark brown back plumage, which turns into white towards the end. The belly, beak and tail are colored black. The neck and the lower part of the head are kept completely white.
Distribution and way of life
The species inhabits the rocky regions inland and the sea coasts of North and Central America from Canada to El Salvador and Honduras . The birds in the northern ranges migrate south in winter. In flight it catches insects such as beetles, bees and the like. a. It is one of the fastest bird species in North America.
Brood
During the breeding season in May, the birds gather in small colonies on jagged rocks. There the white-breasted swifts build flat, bowl-shaped nests made of feathers and grass. The female lays 4–8 white eggs in it. Both parent animals are responsible for hatching and caring for the young.
Subspecies
In addition to the nominate form Aeronautes saxatalis saxatalis ( Woodhouse , 1853), which occurs from southwest Canada to western Mexico, another subspecies is recognized. The distribution area of the subspecies Aeronautes saxatalis nigrior ( Dickey & van Rossem , 1928) extends from southern Mexico to central Honduras.
Occasionally one finds another subspecies with Aeronautes saxatalis sclateri ( Rogers , 1939) in the literature. However, later studies by William Harroun Behle in 1973 have shown that this is a synonym for the nominate form.
Danger
The IUCN lists this species as Least Concern (not endangered).
literature
- The great world empire of the animals. German translation from English. Planet Medien, Zug 1992, ISBN 3-8247-8614-1 , pp. 276-277.
- Christopher M. Perrins : The Great Encyclopedia of Birds. From the English, Orbis-Verlag, Munich 1996, ISBN 3-572-00810-7 , pp. 187, 189.
- Bird life atlas. German translation from English. Unipart Verlag, Stuttgart 1994, ISBN 3-8122-3399-1 , p. 52.
- Samuel Washington Woodhouse in Lorenzo Sitgreaves: Report of an Expedition Down the Zuni and Colorado Rivers . Robert Armstrong, Washington 1853 ( online [accessed August 26, 2013]).
- Charles Henry Rogers: A New Swift from the United States . In: The Auk . tape 56 , no. 4 , 1939, pp. 465–468 ( online (PDF; 198 kB) [accessed on September 26, 2013]).
- William Harroun Behle: linal Variation in White-Throated Swifts From Utah and the Rocky Mountain Region . In: The Auk . tape 90 , no. 2 , 1973, p. 299–306 ( online (PDF; 433 kB) [accessed on September 26, 2013]).
- Donald Ryder Dickey, Adriaan Joseph van Rossem: A New Race of the White-Throated Swift From Central America . In: The Condor . tape 30 , no. 3 , 1928, pp. 193 ( online (PDF; 96 kB) [accessed on September 26, 2013]).
Web links
- Aeronautes saxatalis inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2012.2. Listed by: BirdLife International, 2012. Retrieved January 29, 2013.
- BirdLife International: Species Factsheet - White-throated Swift ( Aeronautes saxatalis ) . Retrieved September 26, 2013.
- Videos, photos and sound recordings of White-throated Swift (Aeronautes saxatalis) in the Internet Bird Collection
- White-breasted Swift ( Aeronautes saxatalis ) at Avibase; Retrieved September 26, 2013.
- Aeronautes saxatalis in the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS). Retrieved September 26, 2013.
- xeno-canto: Sound recordings - White-throated Swift ( Aeronautes saxatalis )