Abstract:
Three nominal species of swifts have been described from lower Miocene (Aquitanian) deposits of France. Re-examination of these forms,
Cypselus [ = Apus] ignotus Milne-Edwards, Collocalia incerta Milne-Edwards, and Cypselavus intermedius Gaillard, indicates that they are attributable to a single species, ignotus, referable to the modern genus Cypseloides. This provides the first
occurrence of the Cypseloidinae in the fossil record
and indicates a possible origin in the Old World
for this primitive group of swifts, presently restricted to the New World.
