Uniform Swiftlet
Aerodramus vanikorensis
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderApodiformes (Swifts and Hummingbirds)
- FamilyApodidae (Swifts)
- GenusAerodramus (Dark Swiftlets)
- SpeciesAerodramus vanikorensis (Uniform Swiftlet)
About the 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.
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... Wikipedia →
Closest Relatives at Raja Ampat
Mountain Swiftlet
Aerodramus hirundinaceus
Glossy Swiftlet
Collocalia esculenta
Papuan Needletail
Mearnsia novaeguineae
Pacific Swift
Apus pacificus
White-throated Needletail
Hirundapus caudacutus
Moustached Treeswift
Hemiprocne mystacea
Wallace's Owlet-nightjar
Aegotheles wallacii
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Raja Ampat | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 2 | Tangkoko Nature Reserve | 🇮🇩 Indonesia |
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Uniform Swiftlet in Raja Ampat?
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Uniform Swiftlet sighting in Raja Ampat, based on 623 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Uniform Swiftlet in Raja Ampat?
November has the highest sighting rate for Uniform Swiftlet in Raja Ampat in our monthly data.