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Lifespan, longevity, and ageing

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Maximum longevity: 21 years (captivity)
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Trophic Strategy

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Common swifts are insectivorous, feeding solely on aerial insects and spiders that it gathers in its mouth as it glides through the air. The insects are gathered together inside the throat through the use of a product from the salivary glands, to form a food-ball or bolus. Apus apus is commonly attracted to swarms of insects, as it aides in the ease of collecting sufficient food. It has been estimated that there are an average of 300 insects per bolus, and that each nest of young may receive 3000 food-balls per day. These numbers may vary based upon the abundance of prey. Among some of the most commonly consumed insects are aphids (Hemiptera), wasps, bees, and ants (Hymenoptera), beetles (Coleoptera), and flies (Diptera).

Animal Foods: insects; terrestrial non-insect arthropods

Primary Diet: carnivore (Insectivore )

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Thompson, K. 2006. "Apus apus" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Apus_apus.html
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Katie Thompson, Kalamazoo College
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Most notable among the anti-predator adaptations of A. apus is its aerial mastery, allowing these birds to avoid most of their natural predators, including Eurasian hobbies (Falco subbuteo), sparrowhawks (Accipiter nisus), and buzzards (Buteo buteo), by taking to the air. In addition, the choice of nesting sites on vertical surfaces such as rock walls and chimneys makes it difficult for common swifts to be preyed upon because of the level of difficulty associated with accessing the nest area. The plain coloration of Apus apus also is advantageous for predator evasion as it makes them difficult to see when they are not in the air.

Known Predators:

  • Eurasian hobby (Falco subbuteo)
  • Eurasian sparrowhawks (Accipiter nisus)
  • common buzzards (Buteo buteo)
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Thompson, K. 2006. "Apus apus" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Apus_apus.html
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Morphology

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Common swifts are 16-17 cm in length with a wingspan of 42-48 cm, depending upon the age of the individual. Common swifts are black-brown in color with the exception of a white to cream colored chin and throat (located directly underneath the beak). In addition, the topside of the flight feathers is a paler brown-black color in comparison to the rest of the body. Apus apus can also be distinguished by its moderately forked tail feathers, its narrow, sickle-shaped wings, as well as its shrill, screaming call. Apus apus is frequently mistaken for a swallow or a hummingbird. Apus apus is larger and has very a different wing shape and flight pattern than do hummingbirds or swallows. All members of the family Apodidae possess a unique morphological characteristic, a lateral “grasping foot” in which toes one and two are opposed by toes three and four. This allows the common swift to occupy areas such as walls of rock, chimneys, and other vertical surfaces that would be difficult for other types of birds to inhabit. Apus apus is a sexually monomorphic species, meaning that the males and females look alike. There has been no seasonal or geographical variation reported in the appearance. However, it is possible to distinguish juveniles from adults in the slight difference in richness and uniformity of their coloration, as it is common for juveniles to be blacker in color, as well as to have a pale forehead, white-fringed feathers, and a starker white patch under the beak. This distinction is best observed at close range.

Average length: 16-17 cm.

Range wingspan: 42 to 48 cm.

Other Physical Features: endothermic ; homoiothermic; bilateral symmetry

Sexual Dimorphism: sexes alike

Average mass: 44.9 g.

Average basal metabolic rate: 0.4372 W.

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Thompson, K. 2006. "Apus apus" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Apus_apus.html
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Life Expectancy

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Apus apus is typically long-lived. A common swift banded in Sweden was re-trapped at the age of 17. The annual survival rate for the adults is 65-83%.

Range lifespan
Status: wild:
21 (high) years.

Average lifespan
Status: captivity:
21.0 years.

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Thompson, K. 2006. "Apus apus" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Apus_apus.html
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Habitat

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The majority of the breeding habitat of A. apus is located in temperate zones, where there are suitable trees for nesting and sufficient open spaces in which to fly to gather food. The habitat of Apus apus during the months following migration into Africa, however, is tropical. Common swifts have been observed breeding from sea level to several thousand meters in elevation. Apus apus prefers areas with trees, or buildings with open spaces, and is able to use vertical surfaces such as rock walls and chimneys for nesting due to a unique physical adaptation possessed by all swifts (Apodidae).

Habitat Regions: temperate ; tropical ; terrestrial

Terrestrial Biomes: forest

Other Habitat Features: urban ; suburban

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Thompson, K. 2006. "Apus apus" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Apus_apus.html
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Katie Thompson, Kalamazoo College
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Distribution

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Common swifts, Apus apus, can be found in almost any region from western Europe to eastern Asia and from northern Scandanavia and northern Siberia to North Africa, Himalayas, and central China. Apus apus can be found throughout this range during the breeding season and, following migration, spends the winter months in Southern Africa, from Zaire and Tanzania south to Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

Biogeographic Regions: palearctic (Native ); ethiopian (Native )

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Thompson, K. 2006. "Apus apus" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Apus_apus.html
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Associations

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As a predator, A. apus contributes to the control of the insect population.

Commensal/Parasitic Species:

  • mites (Acari)
  • lice (Anoplura)
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Thompson, K. 2006. "Apus apus" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Apus_apus.html
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Benefits

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Besides the fact that the common swift frequently nests in close association with humans, A. apus has no significant economical impact on humans. Apus apus may offer a slight benefit to humans by consuming pest insects such as mosquitos. However, it is unlikely that A. apus itself would have a significant impact on these pest populations. In some places common swifts are encouraged to nest in manmade structures so that the young can be harvested for food, however, this practice is not very common. Also the nests of some swifts are used by indigenous peoples of Asia as the key ingredient in bird’s nest soup.

Positive Impacts: food ; controls pest population

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Thompson, K. 2006. "Apus apus" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Apus_apus.html
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Benefits

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Common swifts have no notable negative impacts upon humans, with the exception of the occasional nuisance of having them nest in the eaves and open spaces in the rooftops of many cities and villages across Europe.

Negative Impacts: household pest

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Thompson, K. 2006. "Apus apus" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Apus_apus.html
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Conservation Status

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Apus apus is neither threatened nor endangered.

US Migratory Bird Act: no special status

US Federal List: no special status

CITES: no special status

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern

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Thompson, K. 2006. "Apus apus" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Apus_apus.html
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Behavior

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Communication between Apus apus occurs almost exclusively through the use of different vocalizations, or calls, and by changes in body language. The types of calls used by A. apus are largely dependent upon its age. There are different calls used by the adults than by the young. The most common call during flight, a long, shrill ‘sreee’, is used in innumerable contexts by adults. Also among the vocalizations of the adults are those given during allopreening (nest-call), those following defeat in a fight (piping-call), as well as those preceding copulation (pre-copulatory call). The most common call used by young is the food-call, used to beg for food from a parent upon its return.

Communication Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic

Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical

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Thompson, K. 2006. "Apus apus" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Apus_apus.html
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Reproduction

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Apus apus usually first breeds at two years of age, but the age of the first breeding can vary based upon the availability of nesting sites. The common swift is a monogamous species, meaning that it typically has one partner in a lifetime, and that the bond between the pair is maintained from year to year. The male A. apus typically chooses the nest site. Upon the arrival of the female shortly thereafter (usually within a period of days), the nesting site is protected by the pair. The nest is typically composed of grass, leaves, hay, straw, and flower petals (among other things). The nesting site usually includes the nest itself and the areas directly surrounding the nest. Courtship, some copulation, and the rearing of the chicks all occur at this site. Colonies of A. apus typically include 30-40 nest sites, reflecting the gregarious nature of the common swift mating system. Apus apus is more likely to fight to defend a nesting site than it is to defend a mate. Males attract their female partners through attainment of a good nesting site prior to their meeting. Upon their first meeting it is not unusual for the initial responses of the potential mates, both male and female, to be hostile. If interested and unpaired, the female will enter the nest site tentatively, thereby inviting her potential partner to stroke her chin with its bill. If this encounter is successful, the female may also invite her potential partner to allopreen. Allopreening is the process by which birds smooth or clean each others feathers with their beak or bill. This mutual action begins the pair-bonding process.

Mating System: monogamous

Common swifts typically breed from late April to early May through mid-September when the young are fledged. One of the most unique characteristics of A. apus is its ability to mate while in flight, although they also can mate while perched. Mating occurs every few days following the arrival of suitable weather, until a few days after the young have fledged. Following a successful copulation, anywhere from one to four white eggs may be laid, however a clutch size of two is most common. Eggs must then be dutifully incubated for 19-20 days while the embryos develop. Both parents participate in the incubation of the clutch. After the young hatch, it can take an additional 27-45 days before fledging occurs.

Breeding interval: Apus apus breeds once yearly.

Breeding season: Common swifts breed from late April to early May through mid-September

Average eggs per season: 2.

Range time to hatching: 19 to 20 days.

Range fledging age: 27 to 45 days.

Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 2 years.

Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 2 years.

Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; oviparous

Both parents take turns incubating the clutch following fertilization and prior to hatching. For the duration of the first week following hatching, the clutch is typically brooded all day long. During the second week, the young are brooded for approximately half of the day. For the remainder of the time, until the clutch is fledged, they are rarely brooded during the day, but are almost always covered at night. Both parents participate equally in all aspects of the raising of the young. In the event that unusually bad weather persists or food sources become scarce during the time shortly after the hatching of the young, the young possess the ability to become semi-torpid, a hibernation-like state, thereby reducing the energy demands of their rapidly growing bodies. This adaptation allows young A. apus to survive with little food for 10-15 days. During the time from hatching until fledging, the young are fed almost exclusively in the nest. The young are fed food-balls consisting of insects gathered by the parents during flight and held together with a salivary gland product, creating the food bolus. While the young are smaller, they will share a food bolus among them. However, once young are larger they become able to swallow an entire food bolus on their own.

Parental Investment: altricial ; pre-fertilization (Provisioning, Protecting: Female); pre-hatching/birth (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Male, Female); pre-weaning/fledging (Provisioning: Male, Female, Protecting: Male, Female)

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Thompson, K. 2006. "Apus apus" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Apus_apus.html
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Status in Egypt

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Regular passage visitor.

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Associations

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In Great Britain and/or Ireland:
Animal / guest
puparium of Crataerina pallida is a guest in nest of Apus apus
Other: major host/prey

Animal / parasite / ectoparasite / blood sucker
adult of Oeciacus hirundinis sucks the blood of nestling of Apus apus
Other: minor host/prey

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Brief Summary

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There is no other bird that can fly as well as the common swift. It even flies while sleeping. Common swifts make a high screeching sound and catch insects in flight. Although they have many resemblances to swallows, they are not related. In totally natural situations, they build their nests on rocks. However, due to a lack of rocky mountains in this country, they are contented with buildings, nesting mostly under the eaves. Therefore, it is no wonder that common swifts only breed in cities and villages with old buildings. Renovations and new buildings usually offer few nesting opportunities for common swifts.
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Common swifts make mysterious twilight ascents

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Adriaan M. Dokter, Susanne Åkesson, Hans Beekhuis, Willem Bouten, Luit Buurma, Hans van Gasteren, Iwan Holleman. Twilight ascents by common swifts, Apus apus, at dawn and dusk: acquisition of orientation cues? Animal Behaviour, 2013; DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2012.12.006
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Common swift

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The common swift (Apus apus) is a medium-sized bird, superficially similar to the barn swallow or house martin but somewhat larger, though not stemming from those passerine species, being in the order Apodiformes. The resemblances between the groups are due to convergent evolution, reflecting similar contextual development. The swifts' nearest relatives are the New World hummingbirds and the Southeast Asian treeswifts.

Its scientific name Apus is Latin for a swift, thought by the ancients to be a type of swallow with no feet (from Ancient Greek α, a, "without", and πούς, pous, "foot").[3]

Swifts have very short legs which they use primarily for clinging to vertical surfaces (hence the German name Mauersegler, literally meaning "wall-glider"). They never settle voluntarily on the ground, where they would be vulnerable to accidents and predation, and non-breeding individuals may spend up to ten months in continuous flight.[4]

Taxonomy

The common swift was one of the many species described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae. He introduced the binomial name Hirundo apus.[5] The current genus Apus was erected by the Italian naturalist Giovanni Antonio Scopoli in 1777 based on tautonymy.[6][7] The word apus is the Latin word for a swift. It is derived from the Ancient Greek α, a, "without", and πούς, pous, "foot", based on the belief that these birds were a form of swallow that lacked feet.[3]

A Central European subspecies which lived during the last ice age has been described as Apus apus palapus.

Description

Common swifts are 16–17 cm (6.3–6.7 in) long with a wingspan of 38–40 cm (15–16 in)[8] and entirely blackish-brown except for a small white or pale grey patch on their chins which is not visible from a distance. They have a short forked tail and very long swept-back wings that resemble a crescent or a boomerang.

Their call is a loud scream in two different tone pitches, the higher of which issues from the female. They often form "screaming parties" during summer evenings, when 10–20 swifts will gather in flight around their nesting area, calling out and being answered by nesting swifts. Larger "screaming parties" are formed at higher altitudes, especially late in the breeding season. The purpose of these parties is uncertain, but may include ascending to sleep on the wing, while still breeding adults tend to spend the night in the nest. Tracking swifts at their breeding colonies using radar has revealed that individuals often occur in flocks during evening ascent and dawn descent but not during the subsequent evening descent or prior dawn ascent, suggesting that this flocking benefits the swifts via cue acquisition and information exchange between individuals or through extending social behaviour.[9]

Behaviour

Eggs of Apus apus
Young bird, not yet able to fly
Several swifts flying
Swifts in flight, Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Poland

Swifts may nest in former woodpecker tree burrows found in ancient forests, such as some 600 reported nesting in the Białowieża Forest of North Eastern Poland, or the small colony found in a combination of woodpecker holes and tree nestboxes on the RSPB's reserve at the Caledonian Forest in Abernethy, Scotland. While tree holes and cliffs may have comprised their historical nesting resource, the almost complete removal of ancient forest from their nesting range has resulted in adaptation to man-made sites. Swifts build their nests of air-borne material caught in flight, bonded with their saliva, in suitable buildings hollows, such as under tiles, in gaps beneath window sills, and most typically under eaves and within gables.

Swifts form pairs that may couple for years, and often return to the same nesting site and partner year after year, repairing degradation suffered in their 40-week migratory absence. Insects such as clothes moths, carpet and larder beetles may consume all but the most indigestible nest elements, typically feather shafts.

Young nesting swifts are able to survive for a few days without food by dropping their body temperature and metabolic rate, entering a torpid state.

Except when nesting, swifts spend their lives in the air, living on the insects caught in flight; they drink, feed, and often mate and sleep on the wing.[8] Some individuals go 10 months without landing.[4] No other bird spends as much of its life in flight. Contrary to common belief, swifts can take flight from level ground.[10] Their maximum horizontal flying speed is 111.6 km/h (69.3 mph)[11] Over a lifetime they can cover millions of kilometers.[12]

Feeding parties can be very large in insect-rich areas, such as wetlands. Reports of as many as 2,000 swifts feeding over flooded gravel pits, lakes and marshy river deltas are not uncommon, and may represent an ingress of swifts from within as much as a 100 km (62 mi) radius; swifts nesting in Western Scotland are thought to venture to Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland to feed on the abundant and nutritious "Lough Neagh Fly".

Breeding

Common swifts nest in a wider variety of sites than any other species of Apus. Swifts usually nest in buildings but they can also be found nesting in holes in trees, cliffs and crevices, and even in nestboxes. Swifts usually enter their nesting holes with direct flight, and take-off is characterized by an initial free-fall. Empty cavities are shallower than those with nests, and the entry size is smaller in the former than in the latter.[13]

Migration

A juvenile, feigning death (thanatosis)

Common swifts are migratory. Their summer breeding range runs from Portugal and Ireland in the West across to China and Siberia in the East. They breed as far south as Northern Africa (in Morocco and Algeria), with a presence in the Middle East in Israel, Lebanon and Syria, the Near East across Turkey, and the whole of Europe as far north as Norway, Finland, and most of sub-Arctic Russia. Swifts migrate to Africa by a variety of routes, ending up in Equatorial and Sub-Equatorial Africa, excluding the Cape. Common swifts do not breed on the Indian Subcontinent.

Subjects of a geolocator tracking study demonstrated that swifts breeding in Sweden winter in the Congo region of Africa.[14] Swifts spend three to three-and-a-half months in Africa and a similar time breeding – the rest is spent on the wing, flying home or away. Unsuccessful breeders, fledglings, and sexually immature year-old birds are the first to leave their breeding area. Breeding males follow next, and finally the breeding females. The breeding females stay longer in the nest to rebuild their fat reserves. The time of departure is often determined by the light cycle, and begins at the first day of less than 17 hours light. For this reason, birds further north, for instance in Finland, leave later in the second half of August. These latecomers are rushed through the quickly shortening days in Central Europe and are barely seen by bird watchers.

The prevailing direction of travel through Central Europe is south-by-southwest, and so the Alps do not present a barrier. In bad weather, the swifts follow rivers, because they can find a better food supply there. The population of Western and Central Europe traverses the Iberian peninsula and northwestern Africa. Swifts from Russia and southeastern Europe made a long journey over the eastern part of the Mediterranean. It is unclear where the two groups meet. The western group of swifts mostly follow the Atlantic coastline of Africa – otherwise they would have to cross the Sahara. Once they arrive at the humid savanna, they turn southeast to arrive at their winter feeding grounds. During the summer in Africa, there is a great bounty of insects for the swifts, since the region lies in the Intertropical Convergence Zone. The swifts have a nearly unbroken presence in the sky.

A few swifts, usually some of the sexually immature one year olds, remain in Africa. The majority fly northwards through Africa, then turn east towards their destinations. The birds use low pressure fronts during their spring migrations to exploit the southwestern flow of warm air, and on the return trip, ride northeastern winds on the back of the low pressure fronts.

In Central Europe, the swifts return in the second half of April and the first third of May, and like to stay in lowlands and near water rather than in high places. In more northerly regions, the swifts arrive later. The weather along the journey has an enormous influence on the arrival date, so in one region the swifts may come back at varying times year to year.

Differences between swifts and swallows

Barn swallow
Swift

The barn swallow and house martin hunt for airborne insects in a manner similar to that of the slightly larger swift, and occasionally mixed groups of the species form. The most noticeable differences between the three types are:

  • The shrill screaming call of the swift distinguishes itself from the more inconspicuous babbling of the swallow.
  • The narrow sickle-shaped wings of the swift are longer than its body, and its silhouette in the air resembles an anchor.
  • The swift's wingbeats are deep and quick, and the swift glides for longer. The swallow's flight is more fluttering, and it presses its wings further to the rear during beats.
  • Although sometimes difficult to discern against a bright sky, the underside of a swift, with the exception of the white spot under its chin, is entirely dark brown. Swallows show a beige-white underside. They can also be recognized by the long forks in their tails.

Parasites

Swift nests commonly support populations of the chewing louse Dennyus hirundinis and the lousefly Crataerina pallida.[15]

In heraldry

The heraldic bird known as the "martlet", which is represented without feet, may have been based on the swift, but is generally assumed to refer to the house martin; it was used for the arms of younger sons, perhaps because it symbolized their landless wandering.

See also

References

  1. ^ BirdLife International (2014). "Apus apus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2014: e.T22686800A62552970. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-2.RLTS.T22686800A62552970.en.
  2. ^ BirdLife International (2021). "Apus apus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2021: e.T22686800A62552970. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-2.RLTS.T22686800A62552970.en.
  3. ^ a b Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 52. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
  4. ^ a b Hedenström, Anders; et al. (September 2016). "Annual 10-Month Aerial Life Phase in the Common Swift Apus apus". Current Biology. 26 (22): 3066–3070. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2016.09.014. PMID 28094028.
  5. ^ Linnaeus, C. (1758). Systema Naturæ per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis, Volume 1 (in Latin). Vol. v.1 (10th ed.). Holmiae:Laurentii Salvii. p. 192.
  6. ^ Scopoli, Giovanni Antonio (1777). Introductio ad historiam naturalem (in Latin). Pragae: Apud Wolfgangum Gerle. p. 483.
  7. ^ Peters, James Lee, ed. (1940). Check-list of Birds of the World. Vol. 4. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 244.
  8. ^ a b "Commonswift, Mauersegler, Apus apus, Martinet noir, Gierzwaluw, Swift pictures, Vencejo comun, chernyi strizh, Mauersegler Fotos, Swift pictures, Bibliography, airstrokes". Commonswift.org. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  9. ^ Nilsson, C.; Bäckman, J.; Dokter, A.M. (2019). "Flocking behaviour in the twilight ascents of Common Swifts Apus apus". Ibis. 161 (3): 674–678. doi:10.1111/ibi.12704. S2CID 92297347.
  10. ^ "Grounded swifts". Helping swifts. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
  11. ^ Bourton, Jody (2 March 2010). "Supercharged swifts take flight speed record". BBC earth news. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  12. ^ "Amazing swift facts" (PDF). Rspb.org. Retrieved 18 March 2022. For its size, the swift has an exceptionally long life-span – averaging about 5.5 years. One bird in Oxford was found dying in 1964, 16 years after it was ringed as an adult, and therefore likely to be at least 18 years old. It's reckoned that this bird flew, in its lifetime, about 4 million miles, the same as flying to the moon and back 8 times!
  13. ^ Corrales, L.; Bautista, L.M.; SantaMaría, T.; Mas, P. (2013). "Hole selection by nesting swifts in medieval city-walls of central Spain" (PDF). Ardeola. 60 (2): 291–304. doi:10.13157/arla.60.2.2013.291. hdl:10261/96963. S2CID 84894013.
  14. ^ Åkesson, S.; Klaassen, R.; Holmgren, J.; Fox, J.W.; Hedenström, A. (2012). "Migration Routes and Strategies in a Highly Aerial Migrant, the Common Swift Apus apus, Revealed by Light-Level Geolocators". PLOS ONE. 7 (7:e41195): e41195. Bibcode:2012PLoSO...741195A. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0041195. PMC 3399846. PMID 22815968.
  15. ^ Tompkins, D.M.; Jones, T.; Clayton, D.H. (1996). "Effect of vertically transmitted ectoparasites on the reproductive success of Swifts (Apus apus)". Functional Ecology. 10 (6): 733–740. doi:10.2307/2390508. ISSN 0269-8463. JSTOR 2390508. S2CID 33059571.

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Common swift: Brief Summary

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The common swift (Apus apus) is a medium-sized bird, superficially similar to the barn swallow or house martin but somewhat larger, though not stemming from those passerine species, being in the order Apodiformes. The resemblances between the groups are due to convergent evolution, reflecting similar contextual development. The swifts' nearest relatives are the New World hummingbirds and the Southeast Asian treeswifts.

Its scientific name Apus is Latin for a swift, thought by the ancients to be a type of swallow with no feet (from Ancient Greek α, a, "without", and πούς, pous, "foot").

Swifts have very short legs which they use primarily for clinging to vertical surfaces (hence the German name Mauersegler, literally meaning "wall-glider"). They never settle voluntarily on the ground, where they would be vulnerable to accidents and predation, and non-breeding individuals may spend up to ten months in continuous flight.

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