Swifts (Apodidae)
African Palm-swift (Cypsiurus parvus) - HBW 5, p. 449
French: Martinet des palmes
German: Palmensegler
Spanish: Vencejo Palmero Africano
Other common names: Palm Swift (when joined with C. balasiensis); Madagascar Palm-swift (gracilis)
Taxonomy: Cypselus parvus Lichtenstein, 1823, Nubia.
Forms superspecies with C. balasiensis, with which previously considered conspecific. Race gracilis (with griveaudi) may prove to be a distinct species. Eight subspecies currently recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution:
- parvus (Lichtenstein, 1823) - Senegambia to Ethiopia, S to S Sudan; also SW Arabia.
- brachypterus (Reichenow, 1903) - Sierra Leone to NE Zaire, S to Angola; islands in Gulf of Guinea.
- myochrous (Reichenow, 1886) - S Sudan to NE South Africa (Transvaal), preferring highlands.
- parvus (Lichtenstein, 1823) - Senegambia to Ethiopia, S to S Sudan; also SW Arabia.
- brachypterus (Reichenow, 1903) - Sierra Leone to NE Zaire, S to Angola; islands in Gulf of Guinea.
- myochrous (Reichenow, 1886) - S Sudan to NE South Africa (Transvaal), preferring highlands.
- laemostigma (Reichenow, 1905) - coastal lowlands from S Somalia to Mozambique.
- hyphaenes Brooke, 1972 - N Namibia and N Botswana.
- celer Clancey, 1983 - Mozambique to Natal.
- griveaudi Benson, 1960 - Comoro Is.
- gracilis (Sharpe, 1871) - Madagascar.
- Least Concern Enlarge map
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A bird flying overhead Locality Nata Lodge, Nata, Central District, Botswana (ssp hypaenes)
Keith Blomerley 6 January 2007 5 years ago 15 sec 2.3
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Bird in Flight
Locality Polokwane (Pietersburg), Limpopo Province, South Africa
jmdebruyn 10 October 2012 22 weeks ago 4.3 -
A bird flying
Locality Okavango Delta, North-West District, Botswana
Aleix Comas 6 September 2007 3 years ago 3 -
African Palm Swift resting on palm fronds
Locality Liwonde National Park, Southern Region, Malawi
Jason Anderson 8 December 2012 20 weeks ago 2.8
- No sound recordings available yet
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