The rain swallows (scientific name: Apodiforms) are all small climbing birds.The mouth is short, wide and flat, or as thin as a needle.humerusIt is short, with long, narrow and sharp wings and short and few secondary flight feathers. It is suitable for fast flight and hovering in the air.The tail is mostly fork shaped, with 10 tail feathers.The legs are short and weak,Tarsal metatarsalMost of them are feathered, and all four toes are forward, or the back toe can rotate forward.[1]
They mainly live in the air and often fly and hunt in groups.The food is mainly insects (swifts) and nectar (hummingbirds).[1]
Rain swallow birds are small in size;The skull is of the bird palate type or cleft palate type;The mouth is flat and short, the tip is slightly curved, the base is wide, and there is no mouth whisker;Wing shaped and sharp, the fifthSecondary flight featherExistence or absence;The tail shape is variable, mostly forked, with 10 tail feathers;Feet short, tarsometatarsal mostly feathered;All four toes are forward, or the back toe can rotate forward;Salivary glands developed;Tail fat gland exposed;Small body, similar to male and female birds.Young birds are late birds.[2]
Life habits
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Rain swallow birds often fly in groups in the air, flying fast and agile, and can open their mouths to prey on insects when flying;They usually nest on rocks, buildings or trees.[2]
Distribution range
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The rain bird is a world wide species, almost all over the world, but the hummingbird family is only distributed in the New Northern Territories andNeotropical realm。[2]
There are 3 families, 134 genera and 428 species in the world, including 2 families, 5 genera and 10 species in China.[1]
Subordinate classification
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Apodidae
CoreopteraceaeThere are 21 genera and 92 species in the world, almost all over the world. In China, there are 4 genera and 9 species, almost all over the country.[1]
PhoenidaceaeThere are 1 genus and 4 species in the world, and some scholars have combined them into 3 species, mainly distributed inSoutheast AsiaThere are 1 genus and 1 species in China, mainly distributed in Yunnan.[1]
HummingbirdThere are 112 genera and 332 species in the world, all of which are native to America and mainly live inTropical region, a few species can be reached northwardCanada。It is not distributed in China.[5]
HummingbirdBirds are famous for their small size. The smallestCubaOfBee hummingbird （Mellisuga helenae）It is the smallest bird in the world with a total length of less than 5.08cm.The wings of this family of birds flap extremely fast, with an extremely high frequency of 50~70 times/second. The high-speed wing vibration produces a special buzz, which often hovers in the air and can also fly backward, which is rare in birds.[6]
Protection level
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Included in Appendix I, Appendix II and Appendix III of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora[7]
