biology

Moluccan swiftlet

Moluccan swiftlet is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Moluccan swiftlet rather than just read about it. In short: The Moluccan swiftlet (Aerodramus infuscatus) is a small bird in the swift family Apodidae that is found on Sulawesi and on the Maluku Islands in Indonesia. Two subspecies, the Sulawesi swiftlet and the Seram swiftlet, have sometimes been considered as separate species.

Key takeaways

Moluccan swiftlet belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Moluccan swiftlet to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Moluccan swiftlet from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Moluccan swiftlet (Aerodramus infuscatus) is a small bird in the swift family Apodidae that is found on Sulawesi and on the Maluku Islands in Indonesia. Two subspecies, the Sulawesi swiftlet and the Seram swiftlet, have sometimes been considered as separate species.

Taxonomy The Moluccan swiftlet was formally described in 1880 by the Italian zoologist Tommaso Salvadori under the binomial name Collocalia infuscata based on a specimen collected on the island of Ternate in the Maluku Islands. The specific epithet infuscata is Latin meaning "dusky" from infuscare meaning "to make dark". The Moluccan swiftlet is now one of 25 swiflets placed in the genus Aerodramus that was introduced in 1906 by the American ornithologist Harry C. Oberholser. Three subspecies are recognised:

A. i. infuscatus (Salvadori, 1880) – Sangihe Islands and Siau Island (north of northeast Sulawesi) and north Moluccas A. i. sororum (Stresemann, 1931) – central, south, southeast Sulawesi and satellites (Sulawesi swiftlet) A. i. ceramensis (van Oort, 1911) – Buru and Seram (central Moluccas) (Seram swiftlet) In 2007 Frank Rheindt and Robert Hutchinson suggested that the subspecies A. i. sororum and A. i. ceramensis differed sufficiently in plumage that they might be better considered as separate species. The proposal to split the Moluccan swiftlet into three species was adopted in the list of world birds maintained on behalf of the International Ornithological Committee (IOC). The nominate subspecies with its restricted distribution was renamed as the Halmahera swiftlet. The decision to split the species was not followed by other ornithologists and in 2024 the IOC reversed their decision and re-lumped the three species.

Description The Moluccan swiftlet is a small forked tailed swiftlet that is 10 cm (3.9 in) in overall length. It has black-brown upper-parts with a grayish rump band. The underparts are pale brown and the under tail is dark brown. The subspecies sororum has a grey-white rump band 6–7 mm (0.24–0.28 in) in width. The subspecies ceramensis has a broader rump band 10–12 mm (0.39–0.47 in) in width.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Moluccan swiftlet

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Moluccan swiftlet claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Moluccan swiftlet before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Moluccan swiftlet ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Moluccan swiftlet

In research: Moluccan swiftlet appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Moluccan swiftlet in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Moluccan swiftlet is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Aerodramus, Apodiformes stubs, Birds described in 1880, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Moluccan swiftlet outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Moluccan swiftlet in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Moluccan swiftlet means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Moluccan swiftlet out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Moluccan swiftlet in simple terms?

Why does Moluccan swiftlet matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Moluccan swiftlet?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Moluccan swiftlet.