Mascarene Swiftlet – BirdLife Species Factsheet

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2014 IUCN Red List Category (as evaluated by BirdLife International – the official Red List Authority for birds for IUCN): Near Threatened
Family/Sub-family Apodidae
Species name author (Gmelin, 1789)
Taxonomic source(s) Dowsett and Forbes-Watson (1993), Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993)
Summary Collocalia francica breeds colonially in caves and lava tunnels3 in Réunion (to France) and Mauritius. In the 1970s, the species was much less common on Réunion than Mauritius4.

Recent discoveries on Réunion of several large colonies indicate that the population has since increased substantially5 to over 10,000 mature individuals2,8, including a small number of sites with more than 1,500 birds1,5,7. On Mauritius, numbers have declined markedly in the last century, continuing through the last 20 years, with surveys in the 1990s indicating habitation of 34 caves, but complete removal of birds from a further 19. The population was estimated to be a minimum of 2,244-2,610 birds9. Collection for birds’ nest soup and vandalism of caves are the principle threats on Mauritius5,6. In an extreme case, the entrance of one cave has been completely filled in6. On Réunion, proposed development of canyoning and caving tourism may threaten some colonies, and protected areas may be needed8.
Important Bird Areas Click here to view map showing IBAs where species is recorded, including sites where the species does not meet any IBA criteria.
References 1. Barré et al. (1996). 2. V. Bretagnolle in litt. (1999). 3. Cheke (1987c). 4. Cheke (1987b). 5. A. Cheke verbally (2000). 6. C. Jones in litt. (2000). 7. Le Corre and Safford (2001). 8. M. Le Corre in litt. (1999). 9. G. Middleton per C. Jones in litt. (2000).
Text account compilers Rachel McClellan (BirdLife International), Andrew O’Brien (BirdLife International)
IUCN Red List evaluators Stuart Butchart (BirdLife International), Alison Stattersfield (BirdLife International)
Recommended citation BirdLife International (2014) Species factsheet: Collocalia francica. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 29/6/2014
This information is based upon, and updates, the information published in BirdLife International (2000) Threatened birds of the world. Barcelona and Cambridge, UK: Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, and BirdLife International (2004) Threatened birds of the world 2004 CD-ROM. These sources provide the information for species accounts for the birds on the IUCN Red List.
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