the Fettschwalm is not at all especially fat as adult animal; only as squab, it stores big amounts of fat in the connective tissue of its stomach-region. The young then weigh approximately one and a half - until twice so much as its parents. Native Americans "harvest" already for a long time time large quantities at squabs every year by pushing the animals in its sleep-caves with poles out of the nests and then killing. its meat immediately is eaten, the fat however boisterously and as half-solid oil in sound-pots stores. It is very purely and over longer time durable. Alexander of Humboldt observed this battle-party 1799 at the cave of Caripé in Venezuela (therefore the scientific Artname) and described.
Shape Adult Fettschwalme become 38-45 cm long and approximately 400 g heavy. The reaches, pointed wings can reach over one meter of span. Both sexes are not to be distinguished of each other externally. On the upper side carries the cinnamon-colored until maroon plumages slender, black cross-patrol, the underside is brown paler colored. White stains covers the head, the Handschwingen and the outer tail-feathers. The powerful hook-beak is especially strikingly, also the big Tastborsten at the beak-root.
Way of life With its small runs, the animals cling similarly at the rock like the swallows. The Fettschwalm lives purely vegetarian as one single representative of the night-swallows; it lives from fruits, that it tears off in the Rüttelflug with the beak. Mainly, it looks for the fruits of oil-palms (type Elaeis), through what also the strong weight gain of the squabs becomes explicable.
Reproduction its nests build the Fettschwalme in dark, often very extensive caves, in which it itself with echo-bearing, like the bats!) find the way around easily. The reputations discharged on that occasion are not in the ultrasound-area but is well audible also for the human ear. However, they differ strongly from the "normal" reputations and constantly are knocked out during the flight within a cave.
Fettschwalme spend the day in often quite large accumulations also outside the brood-period at dark, protected places, that they still visit again before advent of the dawn. The nests are based on rock-ledges from humus and food-remains, often, even palm-seeds germinate in it. Both partners erbrüten the 2-4 eggs, from which the squabs hatch bare after approximately 33 days. The squabs train two Dunenkleider and become fully-fledged only with approximately 100 days.
Endangering The Fettschwalm was put in Venezuela at least under partial protection.
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