Atiu swiftlet
Species of bird
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Atiu swiftlet or Sawtell's Swiftlet (Aerodramus sawtelli) is a species of bird in the swift family, endemic to Atiu in the Cook Islands.
| Atiu swiftlet | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Clade: | Strisores |
| Order: | Apodiformes |
| Family: | Apodidae |
| Genus: | Aerodramus |
| Species: | A. sawtelli |
| Binomial name | |
| Aerodramus sawtelli (Holyoak, 1974) | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Collocalia sawtelli | |
This small, dark swift measures 10 cm (3.9 in) long. It is sooty-brown above, slightly lighter below.[2]
Its natural habitats are the island's fernlands and mixed horticultural areas over which it feeds, and in makatea limestone caves within which it nests.[2] The species is known on Atiu as kopeka.
Unlike all other swiftlets, it echolocates only through single clicks, rather than a mix of single- and double clicks.[3]
