Antillean Palm Swift
Tachornis phoenicobia
The Antillean Palm Swift (Tachornis phoenicobia) is a uncommon swift found in 8 countries, weighing about 10 g. The Antillean palm swift is a species of bird in subfamily Apodinae of the swift family Apodidae.
About the Antillean Palm Swift
The Antillean palm swift is a species of bird in subfamily Apodinae of the swift family Apodidae. It is found on the Caribbean islands of Cuba, Jamaica, and Hispaniola.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
The Antillean palm swift is 9 to 11 cm (3.5 to 4.3 in) long and weighs about 9 to 11 g (0.32 to 0.39 oz). It has long narrow wings and a medium length forked tail. The sexes are alike. Adults of the nominate subspecies have a dark sooty brown crown and nape. Their back, a narrow center strip of the rump, uppertail coverts, and tail are sooty black to black. The sides of their rump are white. Their wings are sooty blackish with pale edges on the flight feathers. Most of their face is grayish brown. Voice: The Antillean palm swift's flight call is described as "noisy...an almost constant, weak, twittering, tooee-tooee".
Where it lives
Recorded as a rare visitor in United States, Cayman Islands.
When to see it
The Antillean Palm Swift can be seen all year round, with peak activity in March. It is a resident species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify an Antillean Palm Swift?
- The Antillean palm swift is 9 to 11 cm (3.5 to 4.3 in) long and weighs about 9 to 11 g (0.32 to 0.39 oz). Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is an Antillean Palm Swift?
- The Antillean Palm Swift is a tiny sized bird weighing about 10 g.
- Where can you see an Antillean Palm Swift?
- The Antillean Palm Swift occurs in 8 countries, including the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti and Puerto Rico.
- What birds look similar to an Antillean Palm Swift?
- The Antillean Palm Swift is most easily confused with the Fork-tailed Palm Swift and the Pygmy Palm Swift.
- Is the Antillean Palm Swift endangered?
- The Antillean Palm Swift is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Antillean Palm Swift for real
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