Tachornis

Tachornis; Temporal range: Late Pleistocene–present
	Fork-tailed palm swift (Tachornis squamata)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Apodiformes
Family:	Apodidae
Tribe:	Apodini
Genus:	Tachornis; Gosse, 1847
Type species
	Tachornis phoenicobia; Gosse, 1847
Species
	T. furcata (Sutton, 1928) ; T. squamata (Cassin, 1853) ; T. phoenicobia Gosse, 1847 ; †T. uranoceles Olson, 1982 ;

Tachornis is a genus of swift in the family Apodidae. It contains the following species:

Pygmy palm swift (Tachornis furcata)
Fork-tailed palm swift (Tachornis squamata)
Antillean palm swift (Tachornis phoenicobia)
Tachornis uranoceles (fossil; Late Pleistocene of Puerto Rico)

These birds are found in the Neotropics, ranging from the Caribbean to South America. They are characterized by their small size and deeply forked tails.

The name Tachornis derives from the Greek words tachys or takhus, meaning "fast", and ornis, meaning "bird".

References

1 2 Olson, Storrs L. (1982). "A New Species of Palm Swift (Tachornis: Apodidae) from the Pleistocene of Puerto Rico". The Auk. 99 (2): 230–235. doi:10.1093/auk/99.2.230 – via University of South Florida.
↑ "Apodidae". Howard & Moore Checklist Online. Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
↑ Chantler, Phil; Driessens, Gerald (2000). Swifts: A Guide to the Swifts and Treeswifts of the World. Pica Press. ISBN 978-1-873403-83-9.
↑ Lederer, Roger J.; Burr, Carol (2014). Latin for Bird Lovers: over 3,000 bird names explored and explained. Portland & London: Timber Press. p. 200. ISBN 978-1-60469-546-5. OCLC 872984627.
↑ Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names: From Aalge to Zusii (1st ed.). London: Christopher Helm. p. 377. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4. OCLC 659731768.

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[fossil-1] 1 2 Olson, Storrs L. (1982). "A New Species of Palm Swift (Tachornis: Apodidae) from the Pleistocene of Puerto Rico". The Auk. 99 (2): 230–235. doi:10.1093/auk/99.2.230 – via University of South Florida.

[HM4-2] "Apodidae". Howard & Moore Checklist Online. Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 23 June 2025.

[Chantler-3] Chantler, Phil; Driessens, Gerald (2000). Swifts: A Guide to the Swifts and Treeswifts of the World. Pica Press. ISBN 978-1-873403-83-9.

[4] Lederer, Roger J.; Burr, Carol (2014). Latin for Bird Lovers: over 3,000 bird names explored and explained. Portland & London: Timber Press. p. 200. ISBN 978-1-60469-546-5. OCLC 872984627.

[5] Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names: From Aalge to Zusii (1st ed.). London: Christopher Helm. p. 377. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4. OCLC 659731768.