- African Swift
Taxobox
name = African Swift
status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1
image_width =
regnum =Animal ia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Aves
ordo =Apodiformes
familia = Apodidae
genus = "Apus"
species = "A. barbatus "
binomial = "Apus barbatus "
binomial_authority = (Sclater, 1866)The African Swift or African Black Swift, "Apus barbatus", is a small
bird in theswift family. It breeds inAfrica discontinuously fromLiberia ,Cameroon ,Zaire ,Uganda andKenya south toSouth Africa , and onMadagascar . The breeding habitat is damp mountains, typically between 1,600 - 2,400 m, but less often at lower altitudes. This species feeds readily over lowland, and can form very large flocks, often with other gregarious swifts.The nominate South African subspecies is migratory, wintering further north. Other subspecies are resident. Of the other seven accepted forms, the most widespread is the small dark "A. b. roehli" of east Africa. Two other dark races, "A. b. balstoni" and "A. b. mayottensis", are restricted to Madagascar and the
Comoro Islands respectively. It has been suggested that some "balstoni" migrate to the continental mainland when not breeding, but this has not been proved.East African birds nest in hollow trees, whereas in South Africa this species uses cliffs, usually inland but also on the coast. African Swift is a colonial breeder, sometimes forming mixed colonies with alpine swifts. The nest is a shallow grass cup glued to the substrate with saliva, and the typical clutch is one or two eggs. The African Swift is 16-18 cm long and bulky like a pallid swift; it appears entirely blackish-brown except for a small white or pale grey patch on the chin which is not visible from a distance. It has a short forked tail and very long swept-back wings that resemble a crescent or a
boomerang . This species is very similar to common swift but can be distinguished under optimum viewing conditions by the contrast between its black back and paler secondary wing feathers. The heavier build also gives it a distinctive flight action, which consisted of a steady level flight interspersed with short glides.The call is a loud double rasped hissing scream "zzzzzzzZZZTT", dissimilar to that of its confusion species.
References
* Chantler and Driessens, "Swifts" ISBN 1-873403-83-6
* Sinclair, Hockey and Tarboton, "SASOL Birds of Southern Africa", ISBN 1-86872-721-1
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
