Uniform Swiftlet

The uniform swiftlet (Aerodramus vanikorensis), also known as the Vanikoro swiftlet or lowland swiftlet, is a gregarious, medium-sized swiftlet with a shallowly forked tail. The colouring is dark grey-brown, darker on the upperparts with somewhat paler underparts, especially on chin and throat. This species is widespread from the Philippines through Wallacea, New Guinea and Melanesia. It forages for flying insects primarily in lowland forests and open areas. It nests in caves where it uses its sense of echolocation, rare in birds, to navigate. == Taxonomy == The uniform swift was formally described in 1832 by the French naturalists Jean Quoy and Joseph Gaimard from a specimen collected on the island of Vanikoro in the Solomon Islands. They coined the binomial name Hirundo vanikorensis. This swiftlet is now placed in the genus Aerodramus that was introduced in 1906 by Harry C. Oberholser. Twelve subspecies are recognised: A. v. aenigma (Riley, 1918) – north, central, southeast Sulawesi, Banggai Islands and Sula Islands is. (east of Sulawesi) A. v. heinrichi (Stresemann, 1932) – south Sulawesi A. v. moluccarum (Stresemann, 1914) – central, south Moluccas A. v. waigeuensis (Stresemann & Paludan, 1932) – north Moluccas and Raja Ampat Islands (northwest of New Guinea) A.…