Birds of the Botanic Gardens
Lesser Antillian Swift: Chaetura martinica; Local name: Swallow, Jiwondel, Zozyo Laplis (Rain Bird);
Family: Apodidae (Swifts)
Family: Apodidae (Swifts)
Description: Small, aerial, bird, 11 cm long (4.25 in), smaller of the two Dominica Swifts, both with the same local names; has dull, brownish-grey upperparts and grey rump, dark grey underparts and short grey tail; like its cousin the Black Swift, in the rainy season it is sometimes seen in the sky far up over the Gardens foraging in flocks, flying fast and darting quickly as it catches its prey of small, flying insects; similar to the Black Swift, local folklore has it that large flocks of these Swallows overhead signal approaching rain, hence the similar local name, Rain Bird.
References:
Arlington James, et al. Dominica’s Birds. Forestry, Wildlife and Parks Division, Ministry of Agriculture and the Environment, Dominica, 2005
James Bond. Birds of the West Indies. Collins, St James Place, London, 4th Edition, 1979
Herbert Raffaele, et al. Birds of the West Indies. Princeton Field Guides, Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, 2003.
References:
Arlington James, et al. Dominica’s Birds. Forestry, Wildlife and Parks Division, Ministry of Agriculture and the Environment, Dominica, 2005
James Bond. Birds of the West Indies. Collins, St James Place, London, 4th Edition, 1979
Herbert Raffaele, et al. Birds of the West Indies. Princeton Field Guides, Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, 2003.
