Mountain sailors

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mountain sailors
Aeronautes montivagus 1847.jpg

Mountain sailor ( Aeronautes montivagus )

Systematics
Class : Birds (aves)
Order : Sailor birds (Apodiformes)
Family : Sailors (Apodidae)
Tribe : Apodini
Genre : Aeronautes
Type : Mountain sailors
Scientific name
Aeronautes montivagus
( d'Orbigny & Lafresnaye , 1837)

The Mountain sailors ( aeronautes montivagus ) is a bird art from the family of sailors (Apodidae). This species has a large range that extends over the countries of Argentina , Bolivia , Peru , Ecuador , Colombia , Venezuela , Brazil and Guyana . The IUCN assesses the population as Least Concern .

features

The mountain sailor reaches a body length of about 12-13 centimeters with a weight of about 19 grams. The body has a streamlined profile with a slightly forked tail without thorns. The upper side of the male is shiny sooty-brown. The feathers of the umbrella and the tail are adorned with white spots, which are sometimes invisible due to bleaching. The throat and chest are white to off-white while the rest of the underside is dark chocolate brown. On the flanks this is traversed by small white spots and runs over the belly to a narrow but clear white band. The sexual dimorphism is not particularly pronounced. The female is only a little more brown in overall appearance and has fewer or no white spots on the tail. The throat and chest are marbled brown. The belly band is narrower or not present at all.

behavior

The mountaineers can usually be seen spinning over high hills and ridges. Here they can be seen in groups of between ten and 30 animals. They fly relatively low to moderately high over mountain terrain, especially in valleys and canyons . Occasionally they mingle with other groups of sailors such as B. under red-necked swifts . Your flight is extremely fast. They build their nests in breeding colonies in cliff walls or holes in buildings.

distribution and habitat

They move in the semi-open terrain of the subtropical and temperate zones at heights of 500 to 2700, rarely even up to 3000 meters. They prefer the central and inter Andean valleys, which are characterized by an arid climate .

Subspecies

Two subspecies are described, which differ mainly in their coloration and their range:

  • Aeronautes montivagus montivagus ( d'Orbigny & Lafresnaye , 1837) - nominate form . The range of this subspecies are many small, isolated areas of the Cordilleras in the north of Venezuela to the south in the Andes in the north-central Bolivia and northwest Argentina.
  • Aeronautes montivagus tatei ( Chapman , 1929) - The subspecies differs from the nominate form by the blue-black upper side. Found on the tepui in southern Venezuela and in the extreme north of Brazil. In Guyana, birds have been spotted on the Guyanese side of the Roraima-Tepui , at the Kaieteur Falls and in the mountains of Kanuku .

Etymology and history of research

D'Orbigny and Lafresnaye used the binomial Cypselus montivagus in their first description . Only later was the species assigned to the genus Aeronautes . The word is made up of the Greek aer for air and nautes for sailor, pilot (naus = the ship). The specific epithet montivagus stands for strolling through the mountains or hiking over the mountains . The subspecies A. m. tatei was even Chapman as a new genus tatei Duidia described. Tatei honors its discoverer George Henry Hamilton Tate (1894–1953), who was the leader of the Tyler Duida expedition at this time .

literature

  • Jon Fjeldså , Niels Krabbe : Birds of the High Andes: A Manual to the Birds of the Temperate Zone of the Andes and Patagonia, South America. Zoological Museum and Apollo Books, 1990, ISBN 87-88757-16-1 , pp. 239 f.
  • Steven L. Hilty , William L. Brown: A Guide to the Birds of Colombia. Princeton University Press, 1986, ISBN 0-691-08372-X , p. 248.
  • Thomas Schulenberg , Douglas F. Stotz , Daniel F. Lane: Birds of Peru. Princeton University Press, 2007, ISBN 978-0-691-04915-1 , p. 206.
  • Robert S. Ridgely , Paul J. Greenfield: Birds of Ecuador Field Guide. Volume 1, Cornell University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8014-8720-X , pp. 332 f.
  • Robert S. Ridgely, Paul J. Greenfield: Birds of Ecuador Field Guide. Vol. 2, Cornell University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8014-8721-8 , p. 240.
  • Steven L. Hilty, John A. Gwynne, Guy Tudor : Birds of Venezuela. Princeton University Press, 2002, ISBN 0-691-09250-8 , pp. 388 f.
  • James A. Jobling: A Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. Oxford University Press, 1992, ISBN 0-19-854634-3 .
  • Frank Michler Chapman: Descriptions of new birds from Mt. Duida, Venezuela. (= American Museum Novitates. No. 380). 1929.
  • Michael J. Braun, Mark B. Robbins, Christopher M. Milensky, Brian J. O'Shea, Brian R. Barber, Wiltshire Hinds, Waldyke S. Prince: New birds for Guyana from Mts Roraima and Ayanganna. In: Bulletin of British Ornithologists' Club. Vol 123, No. 1, 2003, pp. 24-32.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ American Museum novitates. No. 380, 1929. Descriptions of new birds from Mt. Duida, Venezuela (English; PDF; 2.8 MB) Original article
  2. ^ Bulletin of British Ornithologists' Club. Vol 123, No. 1, 2003. New birds for Guyana from Mts Roraima and Ayanganna (English; PDF; 544 kB)

Web links