Black-nest Swiftlet Aerodramus maximus Scientific name definitions

12–14 cm; 13·6–20 g. Medium-sized to large swiftlet with comparatively shallow tail-fork; glossy black-brown upperparts with typically uniform rump, though some have greyish rump; underparts grey, palest on throat and darker from chest, becoming darkest on belly and undertail-coverts; rami of back dark-tipped with only traces of white. In hand averages longer than A. salangana or A. fuciphagus. Differs from A. brevirostris by heavy tarsal feathering and less deeply forked tail. Race lowi has darkest rump; tichelmani smallest, with rump similar to nominate. Both nominate and lowi capable of echolocation; tichelmani unknown.

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Editor's Note: Additional distribution information for this taxon can be found in the 'Subspecies' article above. In the future we will develop a range-wide distribution article.

Shrill chirrups and burbling calls at nesting colonies. Echolocating abilities have been confirmed for races maxima and lowi (and reported to be louder than for A. fuciphagus).

Eggs collected on Thai-Malay Peninsula, mid Apr; active colony in Padang Highlands, Sumatra, Apr; builds nests above high-tide mark from Feb, some eggs laid from early Mar, in Mergui Archipelago, Myanmar; at Niah, breeds Sept–Apr in unfarmed sites, though occasionally outside this season. Colonial cave nester, often sharing caves with A. fuciphagus, A. salangana and Collocalia esculenta. Self-supporting, bracket-shaped nest made of large amounts of firm translucent saliva and feathers from any part of plumage; nest-building takes from 35 to > 127 days. One egg; both sexes brood but changeover does not occur during day; replacement and second clutches recorded; incubation 24–32 days, mean 28. Fledging period 52–65 days, mean 58·5; nestling fed infrequently, in two nests just once and twice in 24 hours (chick dying in first case), but feeding always occurs when adults return to roost. Average breeding success 17% with 0·2 young fledged per breeding effort.

Not globally threatened (Least Concern). Scarcest in Thai-Malay Peninsula. Elsewhere abundant, despite alarming decrease at some farmed caves, e.g. 150,000–298,000 birds estimated at Niah caves in early 1990s where over 1,500,000 pairs estimated as recently as 1959. In 1950s it was thought that over 500,000 eggs or nestlings of this species and next were lost in one cave alone due to harvesting. Recorded in Vietnam only on islets off coast of Khanh Hoa province since 1981, where there were 65 nests in 1994.