The Antillean Palm Swifts (Tachornis phoenicobia) are small swifts which usually form small to medium-size flocks.
Description
The Antillean Palm Swift has distinctive black-and-white markings on the under plumage, rump and throat.
Diet / Feeding
The Antillean Palm Swift’s diet consists mainly of insects caught in air or taken from the surface of water.
Breeding / Nesting
They breed year-round in colonies around coastal areas in the dead fronds that hang from palms. They typically have 1 to 2 broods a year.
The estimated incubation period is 18 – 21 days. Both parents incubate the eggs, but only the female broods the hatchlings. The young are raised by both parents. The chicks stay in the nest for about 20 – 28 days.
Range
This species is fairly common in its native range in the Caribbean, from lowland Cuba to the Isle of Pines, Hispaniola, and Jamaica. Vagrants have been observed as far north as the Florida Keys at least once.
