Bird
Bird
Lesser Swallow-tailed Swift
Panyptila cayennensis
The Lesser Swallow-tailed Swift is a striking, boldly patterned swift recorded in Tobago, distinguished from most other local swifts by a deeply forked tail and crisp black-and-white plumage.
The Lesser Swallow-tailed Swift is a striking, boldly patterned swift recorded in Tobago, distinguished from most other local swifts by a deeply forked tail and crisp black-and-white plumage.
Identification
A small swift around 11 to 13 cm long, glossy blue-black above and on the breast band, with a contrasting white throat, collar, and flank patches, and a long, deeply forked tail unlike the short, squared tails of most Chaetura swifts. Its overall pattern and tail shape make it one of the more distinctive swifts likely to be seen well.
Behaviour
Forages on the wing over forest and forest edge for flying insects, and constructs an unusual elongated, sock-like nest of plant fibres and saliva attached to a cliff face, building, or tree trunk, quite different from the tree-cavity nests of most other local swifts.
Status in T&T
Recorded in Tobago, generally uncommon. Not considered threatened. It is protected as native wildlife under the Conservation of Wildlife Act.
