A Review of the Lower Miocene Swifts (Aves: Apodidae)

Abstract

Three nominal species of swifts have been described from lower Miocene (Aquitanian) deposits of France. Re-examination of these forms, <i>Cypselus</i> [ = <i>Apus</i>] <i>ignotus</i> Milne-Edwards, <i>Collocalia incerta&nbsp;</i>Milne-Edwards, and <i>Cypselavus intermedius</i> Gaillard, indicates that they are attributable to a single species,<i> ignotus</i>, referable to the modern genus <i>Cypseloides</i>. 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.