Open Access
How to translate text using browser tools
1 January 2020 Wetland, Forest, and Open Paddy Land Are the Key Foraging Habitats for Germain’s Swiftlet (Aerodramus inexpectatus germani) in Southern Thailand
Nutjarin Petkliang, George A. Gale, Dianne H. Brunton, Sara Bumrungsri
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

Germain’s swiftlets (Aerodramus inexpectatus germani) are farmed regularly in Southeast Asia and produce highly valuable nests for which there is an increasing demand. Some populations of this species are thought to be decreasing, but little is known about the habitat used by swiftlets for foraging. Here, we focused on this swiftlet’s foraging habitat selection and describe their daily and seasonal variations in habitat use. We predict that the prey capture attempts would be highest during twilight periods of each day, but that overall capture rates would vary with season and habitat type. Prey capture attempts at different times of the day and seasons in five different habitats were investigated and compared to flying insect availability (estimate as biomass). For each habitat, insects were trapped immediately 5–10 m above vegetation levels (i.e., tree canopy and open paddies) and 0–5 m above water surfaces in water body habitat. The highest foraging intensity occurred over water bodies, forest, and open paddy land; all of which contained high numbers of major prey insects (Hymenoptera, Diptera, and Hemiptera). Foraging during the wet season was at a greater intensity than during the dry season which was associated with increased insect availability. This suggested that food supply in each habitat type, time of day, and season influenced the bird’s foraging habitat use. To conserve populations of this swiftlet, it is therefore important to protect wetlands, forest areas, and open paddy land to support natural insect prey within the foraging range of local swiftlets.

© The Author(s) 2017 This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License (http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).
Nutjarin Petkliang, George A. Gale, Dianne H. Brunton, and Sara Bumrungsri "Wetland, Forest, and Open Paddy Land Are the Key Foraging Habitats for Germain’s Swiftlet (Aerodramus inexpectatus germani) in Southern Thailand," Tropical Conservation Science 10(1), (1 January 2020). https://doi.org/10.1177/1940082917698467
Received: 25 November 2016; Accepted: 13 February 2017; Published: 1 January 2020
KEYWORDS
Aerodramus fuciphagus
Edible-nest swiftlet
feeding habitat
insect availability
southern Thailand
Back to Top