Cave Swiftlet vs African Palm Swift

Collocalia linchi مقارنةً بـ Cypsiurus parvus

Side-by-Side Comparison

السمة Cave Swiftlet African Palm Swift
الاسم العلمي Collocalia linchi Cypsiurus parvus
الرتبة Caprimulgiformes Caprimulgiformes
الفصيلة Apodidae Apodidae
حالة الحفاظ Least Concern Least Concern
الطول
طول الجناح 18,7 cm (7.4 in) 27,2 cm (10.7 in)
الوزن 6,05 g (0.21 oz) 14,38 g (0.51 oz)
النظام الغذائي Entirely aerial diet of tiny insects and spiders; forages in large flocks over open country … Exclusively aerial diet; consumes tiny flying insects and spiders, sometimes following insect swarms for km.
عدد البيض في الوضع 2 1-3
Population Trend

Habitat Comparison

الموائل المشتركة

Cave Swiftlet only

بلا

African Palm Swift only

Song & Call Comparison

Cave Swiftlet

الغناء

Soft, rapid twittering; thin 'tsit-tsit' over Javan forests; audible echolocation clicks inside caves; colonial; produces squeaky chattering at roost sites; calls weakly in flight

African Palm Swift

الغناء

Deep, hollow churring trill with resonant bass quality; prolonged vibrating call audible at significant range in open woodland.

Geographic Range & Migration

Cave Swiftlet

Found in Sumatra, Java, Bali, and surrounding Indonesian islands. Resident in forest, cultivated land, and villages. Nests in rock crevices.

African Palm Swift

Found across sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal east to Somalia and south to South Africa. Common in open areas near palms; nests in palm leaves.

حالة الحفاظ

Least Concern

Cave Swiftlet

Least Concern

African Palm Swift

How to Tell Them Apart

Cave Swiftlet

الريش

Tiny; dark blue-black upperparts with faint gloss; pale greyish rump band; underparts whitish with grey-buff flanks; moderately forked tail; widespread in caves across Sundaland; less glossy and less white below …

African Palm Swift

الريش

Slender and long-tailed; uniformly pale greyish-brown overall; underparts paler grey-buff; long deeply forked tail; pale uniform appearance with no contrasting markings; widespread African palm-nesting swift with distinctive slender silhouette.

About These Birds

Cave Swiftlet

A very small swiftlet (9 cm) found in Java, Bali, Sumatra, and the Lesser Sundas. Dark glossy plumage with a pale rump band. Aerial insectivore, foraging in flocks. One of the primary nest-producing swiftlets; its edible nests (made of saliva) are commercially harvested.

African Palm Swift

A slender swift (15-17 cm) with long, narrow wings and a deeply forked tail. Dark brown plumage. Found across sub-Saharan Africa in savanna and open woodland, closely associated with palm trees. Aerial insectivore. One of Africa's most abundant swift species.

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