Aerodramus leucophaeus
The Polynesian Swiftlet, scientifically known as *Aerodramus leucophaeus*, is a diminutive and highly specialized avian marvel endemic to the remote Marquesas Islands of French Polynesia. Averaging just 10-11 cm in length with a wingspan of 25-28 cm and weighing 10-15g, this swiftlet is characterized by its overall dark sooty-brown plumage, often featuring a subtly paler, indistinct greyish-brown rump that can be a key identification mark in certain lighting. Its long, pointed wings and short...
This swiftlet inhabits tropical moist lowland and montane forests, consistently requiring areas with cliffs and suitable caves for nesting and roosting, from sea level up into the island interiors.
The Polynesian Swiftlet is a strict aerial insectivore, consuming a diverse array of flying insects, including beetles, flies, moths, ants, and termites, all captured mid-flight.
Marquesan Swiftlets are primarily diurnal, spending most of their daylight hours in continuous, rapid flight, hawking for insects high in the air. At night and during breeding, they retreat to communal roosts and nesting colonies within dark caves, exhibiting crepuscular activity as they stream i...
The Polynesian Swiftlet (*Aerodramus leucophaeus*) is strictly endemic to the remote Marquesas Islands, an archipelago within French Polynesia in the central Pacific Ocean. Its distribution is fragmented across these volcanic islands. The nominate subspecies, *Aerodramus leucophaeus leucophaeus*,...
Near Threatened
- The Marquesan Swiftlet is one of the very few bird species globally capable of echolocation, using audible clicks to navigate within pitch-black caves. - Its unique nest is constructed primarily from hardened salivary cement, often mixed with mosses or lichens, and expertly glued to vertical ca...