Drab swiftlet
{{short description|Species of bird}}
{{speciesbox
| name = Drab swiftlet
| genus = Collocalia
| species = neglecta
| species_link =
| authority = Gray, GR, 1866
| synonyms = Collocalia esculenta neglecta
}}
The drab swiftlet (Collocalia neglecta) is a small bird in the swift family Apodidae. It is endemic to the Lesser Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It was formerly treated as a subspecies of the glossy swiftlet.
Taxonomy
The drab swiftlet was described by the English zoologist George Robert Gray in 1866 under the binomial name Collocalia neglecta. The type locality is the island of Timor in the Lesser Sunda Islands.{{ cite journal | last=Gray | first=George Robert | author-link=George Robert Gray | year=1866 | title=A synopsis on the species in the genus Collocalia, with descriptions of new species | journal=Annals and Magazine of Natural History | volume=17 | series=3rd Series | pages=118–128 [121] | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/16057150 }}{{ cite book | editor-last=Peters | editor-first=James Lee | editor-link=James L. Peters | year=1940 | title=Check-list of Birds of the World | volume=4 | publisher=Harvard University Press | place=Cambridge, Massachusetts | page=230 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14476701 }} The specific epithet neglecta is from the Latin neglectus meaning "ignored", "overlooked" or "neglected".{{cite book | last=Jobling | first=James A. | year=2010| title=The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | publisher=Christopher Helm | location=London | isbn= 978-1-4081-2501-4 | page=267 | url=https://archive.org/stream/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling#page/n267/mode/1up }} It was formerly treated as a subspecies of the glossy swiftlet but was raised to species status based on a detailed analysis of the swiftlets in the genus Collocalia published in 2017.{{ cite journal | last1=Rheindt | first1=Frank E. | last2=Christidis | first2=Les | last3=Norman | first3=Janette A. | last4=Eaton | first4=James A. | last5=Sadanandan | first5=Keren R. | last6=Schodde | first6=Richard | year=2017 | title=Speciation in Indo-Pacific swiftlets (Aves: Apodidae): integrating molecular and phenotypic data for a new provisional taxonomy of the Collocalia esculenta complex | journal=Zootaxa | volume=4250 | issue=5 | pages=401–433 | doi=10.11646/zootaxa.4250.5.1 }}{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | year=2017 | title=Owlet-nightjars, treeswifts & swifts | work=World Bird List Version 7.3 | url=http://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/swifts/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | accessdate=2 August 2017 }}
- C. n. neglecta Gray, GR, 1866 – southern Lesser Sunda Islands
- C. n. perneglecta Mayr, 1944 – eastern and central Lesser Sunda Islands{{ cite book | last=Mayr | first=Ernst | author-link=Ernst Mayr | year=1944 | title=The birds of Timor and Sumba | series=Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History | volume=83 | publisher=American Museum of Natural History | place=New York | url=http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/951 }}
Description
The drab swiftlet is {{cvt|9|-|10|cm}} in length with a square tail.{{cite web | last1=Chantler | first1=P. | last2=Boesman | first2=P. | year=2017 | title=Glossy Swiftlet (Collocalia esculenta) | editor1-last=del Hoyo | editor1-first=J. | editor2-last=Elliott | editor2-first=A. | editor3-last=Sargatal | editor3-first=J. | editor4-last=Christie | editor4-first=D.A. | editor5-last=de Juana | editor5-first=E. | work=Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive | publisher=Lynx Edicions | url=http://www.hbw.com/node/55264 | accessdate=23 August 2017 |url-access=subscription }} It has a satin grayish-blue back with slightly glossy crown and tail. The throat and the upper breast is a mid-gray with a lighter margin to the feathers. The lower breast, flanks and belly are white but the rump is dark. There are dull white spots on the inner webs of the tail feathers. Most birds have a tuft of feathers on the hallux, the rear facing toe. Subspecies perneglecta is darker and has more gloss on the feathers.