A group of 10 Fork-tailed swifts went over our heads by the Wongaling Beach tip
at 6.30pm on 10 January - we were watching the track where my first ever
Pale-vented bush-hen had just trotted back into the bush (hoping it might come
back) and only looked up after hearing the swifts skreeing as they sailed
overhead. First for the season here on the FNQ coast.
Swifts are fascinatingly difficult, but I rather like them.
Helen
<')/////==<
________________________________
From: martin cachard <>
To: ; Alan Gillanders
<>; mike tarburton (SWIFT records)
<>; birding-aus threads <>
Sent: Friday, 11 January 2013, 17:44
Subject: Swifts
Hi Dom, Alan, Mike & all other swift enthusiasts...
I think that it is very important when looking through groups of Fork-tailed
Swifts for House Swifts that a number of things need to be considered...
There a usually a high proportion of Fork-tails visiting our parts undergoing
some tail &/or some wing moult, giving them a rather similar shape to House
Swifts. Also to compound the ID difficulty, the white throat patch is rather
variable amongst Fork-tails as well, with most showing the usual smaller & more
diffuse white patch, whilst some others do show a brighter white & more
clear-cut throat patch (so that it resembles the throat of a House Swift).
What I have also looked for to help i.d. House Swifts are the darker underparts
that lack the paler edges/tips typical of Fork-taileds in fresh plumage, which
most are (I think?!) when in these parts in summer.
Therefore, I think if you have a short & broad tailed swift with shorter &
slightly broader wings than a Fork-tail, combined with a bright white &
clear-cut throat patch (ie. throat patch like a needletail), & then combined
with darker underbody parts without any scaly appearance....then & only then,
you are most probably looking at a House Swift.
Incidentally, I am yet to see any Fork-tails (or House) this season near Cairns
- having moved away from the northern side of Cairns to the southern side has
meant that I'm living in a very flat area inland on the coastal plain, well
away from the foothills & coastline that these birds usually favour.
It would be great if you guys get to look more closely at these House
Swift-like birds when you next see some, as I would not be surprised that one
or two actually were indeed House Swifts!! I have myself at least 5 records of
them to the north of Cairns in the last 16 years.
If Mike or anyone else has other ID features for House Swifts against
Fork-tails then I think we all would benefit from them... I think that smaller
size for House Swifts is mostly due to shorter tail length, so that
tail-moulting Foork-tails appear similar in size (happy to be correcetd on this
feature, Mike...)
Cheers for now,
Martin Cachard,
Cairns,
> Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2013 05:28:16 +0000
> From:
> To: ; ;
>
> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Swifts
>
> Hi
> Interesting I have had an influx of fork-tails over Yorkeys Knob the last
> couple of days. On Thursday there were about 35+ over my house from early
> afternoon onwards. Today this has increased to over 150 birds, the fock has
> been highly mobile and difficult to keep in view. Within the flock there were
> several clear Fork-tails in wing moult and at least two others that I took to
> be in tail moult as when they spread their tails they were very square. The
> variability in white on the throat was quite marked in birds that came low
> enough to be studied properly, some having very bright clearly defined white
> chin patches and others far less distinctly marked.
> Dom
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: Alan Gillanders <>
> To: Mike Tarburton <>; birding-aus
> <>
> Sent: Friday, 11 January 2013, 8:14
> Subject: [Birding-Aus] Swifts
>
> Mike,
> At least 17 Fork-tailed Swifts hawking over Petersen Creek Yungaburra
> yesterday evening. Maximum number something like 25.
>
> There were also two other swifts there which I did not get good enough looks
> at to identify. They may have been Fork-tails in tail moult but one had a
> clear white throat. They may have been House Swifts. My impression was a
> smaller swift with a flight more like that of the Swiftlets. They were not
> Swiftlets.
> Regards,
> Alan
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