Great Swallow-tailed Swift

Overview

The great swallow-tailed swift (Panyptila sanctihieronymi) is a species of bird in the subfamily Apodinae of the swift family Apodidae. It is generally a year-round resident throughout its range, although some individuals wander to Costa Rica outside the breeding season.

Identification

• Length 18 to 20.5 cm, weighing about 48 g, with long narrow wings and a long, deeply forked tail.
• Mostly bluish black body with a black crown and upper face featuring two white spots on the forehead.
• White lower face, throat, collar, upper chest, and flanks, with flight feathers having grayish ends and white tips.
• Vocalisations include a plaintive, subtly bisyllabic teew, teew and a reedy chatter kri-kri-kri-kri-kreeuw-kreee.

Habitat

Found from Nayarit in western Mexico south through Guatemala and Honduras into northern Nicaragua, with a few records in Costa Rica. It generally inhabits arid to semi-arid highland landscapes characterised by canyons and large cliffs, typically at elevations between 1,000 and 2,000 m, but sometimes wanders to humid areas as low as 600 m.

Diet

An aerial insectivore that forages alone or in small flocks of its own species. Specific details of its diet are lacking.

Did you know?

The bird builds a tubular nest 40 to 60 cm long from seed fluff and feathers felted with saliva, suspended from the underside of an overhanging rock with an entrance near the bottom and eggs held on a shelf towards the top.