White-throated Swift
| White-throated Swift | |
|---|---|
_in_flight.jpg) |
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| Spokane County, Washington | |
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Apodiformes |
| Family: | Apodidae |
| Genus: | Aeronautes |
| Species: | A. saxatalis |
| Binomial name | |
| Aeronautes saxatalis (Woodhouse, 1853) |
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| Subspecies | |
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Aeronautes saxatalis nigrior |
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The White-throated Swift (Aeronautes saxatalis) is a swift of the family Apodidae native to western North America, south to cordilleran western Honduras. It is migratory, and travels to the southern part of its range in winter, as far north along the Pacific coast as the Californian Central Valley; inland its range extends throughout the Great Basin region to extreme southern British Columbia.
Reaching a length of 16.5 cm (6.5 inches), with a wingspan of 35.5 cm (14 inches), the White-throated Swift is distinguished from other North American swifts by the whitish throat patch, which extends down to the belly. The upperparts, belly, and sides of the breast are black, and the underwings are gray.
Like all swifts, White-throated Swifts use their short legs only for clinging onto vertical surfaces or wires, and never land on the ground voluntarily.
[edit] References
- ^ BirdLife International (2008). Aeronautes saxatalis. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 24 February 2009.
[edit] External links
- White-throated Swift at Avibase
- White-throated Swift at USGS
- Photo-Medium Res; Article – Cornell Lab species account
- Photo-High Res; Article--(bird photo gallery) – research.amnh.org
- "Aeronautes saxatalis". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=178014. Retrieved 8 February 2006.
- Cornell image
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This Apodiformes-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- IUCN Red List least concern species
- Aeronautes
- Birds of North America
- Birds of Canada
- Birds of the United States
- Native birds of the Western United States
- Birds of the Great Basin desert region
- Birds of Mexico
- Birds of Baja Peninsula Mexico
- Birds of Belize
- Birds of Guatemala
- Birds of El Salvador
- Birds of Honduras
- Western North American migratory birds
- Apodiformes stubs
