Drab Swiftlet vs African Palm Swift

Collocalia neglecta مقارنةً بـ Cypsiurus parvus

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Side-by-Side Comparison

السمة Drab Swiftlet African Palm Swift
الاسم العلمي Collocalia neglecta Cypsiurus parvus
الرتبة Caprimulgiformes Caprimulgiformes
الفصيلة Apodidae Apodidae
حالة الحفاظ Not Evaluated Least Concern
الطول
طول الجناح 27,2 cm (10.7 in)
الوزن 5,9 g (0.21 oz) 14,38 g (0.51 oz)
النظام الغذائي Entirely airborne insectivore; feeds on minute flying insects and web-dispersing spiders over open habitats. Exclusively aerial diet; consumes tiny flying insects and spiders, sometimes following insect swarms for km.
عدد البيض في الوضع 1-2 1-3
Population Trend
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Habitat Comparison

الموائل المشتركة

Drab Swiftlet only

بلا

African Palm Swift only

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Song & Call Comparison

Drab Swiftlet

الغناء

High, thin twittering; 'tsit-tsit' in flight; echolocation clicks inside cave roosts; small size and unremarkable plumage matched by simple, thin high-pitched calls

African Palm Swift

الغناء

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

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Geographic Range & Migration

Drab Swiftlet

Found on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Simeuluë Island off Sumatra. Resident in coastal and lowland habitats. Sedentary.

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.

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حالة الحفاظ

Not Evaluated

Drab Swiftlet

Least Concern

African Palm Swift

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How to Tell Them Apart

Drab Swiftlet

الريش

Tiny; dull brownish-grey upperparts with little or no gloss; whitish-buff rump band; pale greyish-buff underparts; forked tail; as the name implies, lacks the iridescent gloss of most Collocalia swiftlets; island …

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.

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About These Birds

Drab Swiftlet

A small swiftlet (10 cm) found in the Philippines, Sulawesi, and the Moluccas. Dark grey-brown plumage, less glossy than related species. Aerial insectivore. Colonial cave nester. Taxonomy has been revised repeatedly; sometimes merged with other swiftlet taxa.

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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