Tachornis
| Tachornis Temporal range: Late Pleistocene–present[1]
| |
|---|---|
| Fork-tailed palm swift (Tachornis squamata) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Clade: | Strisores |
| Order: | Apodiformes |
| Family: | Apodidae |
| Tribe: | Apodini |
| Genus: | Tachornis Gosse, 1847 |
| Type species | |
| Tachornis phoenicobia[2] Gosse, 1847
| |
Tachornis is a genus of swift in the family Apodidae. It contains the following species:
- Pygmy palm swift (Tachornis furcata)
- Fork-tailed palm swift (Tachornis squamata)
- Antillean palm swift (Tachornis phoenicobia)
- Tachornis uranoceles (fossil; Late Pleistocene of Puerto Rico)[1]
These birds are found in the Neotropics, ranging from the Caribbean to South America. They are characterized by their small size and deeply forked tails.[3]
The name Tachornis derives from the Greek words tachys or takhus, meaning "fast", and ornis, meaning "bird".[4][5]
References
- ^ a b Olson, Storrs L. (1982). "A New Species of Palm Swift (Tachornis: Apodidae) from the Pleistocene of Puerto Rico". The Auk. 99 (2): 230–235. doi:10.1093/auk/99.2.230 – via University of South Florida.
- ^ "Apodidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
- ^ Chantler, Phil; Driessens, Gerald (2000). Swifts: A Guide to the Swifts and Treeswifts of the World. Pica Press. ISBN 978-1-873403-83-9.
- ^ Lederer, Roger J.; Burr, Carol (2014). Latin for Bird Lovers: over 3,000 bird names explored and explained. Portland & London: Timber Press. p. 200. ISBN 978-1-60469-546-5. OCLC 872984627.
- ^ Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names: From Aalge to Zusii (1st ed.). London: Christopher Helm. p. 377. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4. OCLC 659731768.