Mountain swiftlet

The mountain swiftlet, Aerodramus hirundinaceus, is a small swift of the family Apodidae that lives only on the island of New Guinea and on the nearby islands of Karkar, Yapen and Goodenough. It was first placed in the genus Collocalia and was later moved, along with many relatives, into Aerodramus. Three subspecies are recognised: the nominate form across most of New Guinea, one that occurs above 1600 metres in the Snow Mountains and Cartenz peaks of Irian Jaya, and one confined to Yapen. The bird ranges from about 500 metres up to the treeline, in tropical moist montane forest and other mountain habitats, and is scarcer in lowlands near hills. It measures 11 to 13 centimetres, with dark brown upperparts, paler grey underparts and a slightly forked tail. Like other swiftlets of its genus it echolocates to find its way in the caves where it breeds. It builds nests of ferns, rootlets, grasses or lichens held together with saliva, usually lays a single egg, and has a long nestling period of 57 to 74 days, yet about 61 percent of nesting attempts succeed.