>Apus apus (Common Swift)

Common Swift

Common Swift
In Barcelona, Spain
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Apodiformes
Family:	Apodidae
Genus:	Apus
Species:	A. apus
Binomial name
Apus apus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Common Swift range

The Common Swift (Apus apus) is a medium-sized
 bird, superficially similar to the Barn Swallow or House Martin but somewhat larger. It is, however, completely unrelated to those passerine species, since swifts are in the separate order Apodiformes. The resemblances between the groups are due to convergent evolution reflecting similar life styles. Swifts nearest relatives are thought to be the New World Humming-Birds.

Their scientific name comes from the Ancient Greek ἄπους, apous, meaning "without feet". These birds have very short legs which they use only 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.

Taxonomy

The Common Swift was one of the many species described by Linnaeus in his Systema naturae in 1758. The scientific name comes from the Ancient Greek words α "without", and πούς, "feet". The predecessor of the Central European subspecies which lived during the last ice age has been described as Apus apus palapus.

Description

Common Swifts are 16–17 cm long with a wingspan of 38–40 cm 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.

The call is a loud scream in two different tone pitches, of which the higher one is from the female and the lower one from the male. They often form 'screaming parties' during summer evenings where about 10-20 Swifts will gather and fly around their nesting area, all calling out to each other, and being answered by other Swifts within the nests. Larger "screaming parties" are formed at higher altituds, especially late in the breeding season. The purpose of these is not known, but it appears to be the case that these parties, or many Swifts in them, will then ascend to sleep on the wing, while still breeding adults tend to spend the night in the nest.

Behaviour

Migration

Like Swallows, Common Swifts are migratory. Their summer breeding range runs from Spain and Ireland in the West across to China and Siberia in the East. They breed as far South as North Africa (in Morocco and Algeria) with a presence in the Middle East in Israel, Lebanon and Syria, across Turkey including the whole of Europe, as far North as Norway, Finland and most of sub-Arctic Russia. They migrate down to Africa by a variety of routes, so far poorly understood, ending up in Equatorial and Sub-Equatorial Africa, excluding the Cape. The map on this page is old and probably reflects the limits of Linnaeus' knowledge at the time; in fact Common Swifts do not breed in the Indian Subcontinent.

Breeding

Young bird, not yet able to fly

Swifts will occasionally live in old woodpecker nest holes in ancient forests, (some 600 having been reported as nesting in such circumstances in the Bialowieska forest in North Eastern Poland while a small colony lives in woodpecker holes and tree nestboxes at the RSPB's reserve in the Ancient Caledonian Forest reserve at Abernethy in Scotland) and it can be surmised that together with cliffs this was their main nest resource, but with the almost complete removal of ancient forest from their nesting range they have adapted to occupy man-made sites and will build their nests of air-borne material caught in flight and bonded with their saliva, in suitable hollows in buildings, under tiles, in gaps beneath window sills, but most typically in the eaves and in gables. Swifts form reasonably faithful pairs that may last for years, and they will return to the same nesting site and partner year after year, rebuilding their nest when necessary. Swift nests degrade naturally over the long period (40 weeks or so) that the birds are absent on migration. Insect species such as clothes moths, carpet and larder beetles will eat them away, sometimes leaving only the most indigestible elements, typically feather shafts, behind.

Young Swifts in the nest can drop their body temperature and other metabolic elements and become torpid if bad weather prevents their parents from catching insects nearby. In this state they may survive for a few days without food.

Feeding

Several flying

Except when breeding, Swifts spend their lives in the air, living on the insects they catch in flight. They drink, feed, and often mate and sleep on the wing.

1. ^ Common Swift - Apus Apus
2. ^ Common Swift - Apus Apus

>Chaetura brachyura (Short-tailed Swift)

Short-tailed Swift

 

Short-tailed Swift
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Subclass:	Neornithes
Infraclass:	Neognathae
(unranked):	Cypselomorphae
Order:	Apodiformes
Family:	Apodidae
Genus:	Chaetura
Species:	C. brachyura
Binomial name
Chaetura brachyura (Jardine, 1846)

The Short-tailed Swift (Chaetura brachyura) is a bird in the Apodidae, or swift family.

Taxonomy

The subspecies C. b. ocypetes is sometimes considered a full species, the Tumbes Swift Chaetura ocypetes Zimmer, 1953.

Distribution and habitat

The swift is a common resident of Trinidad, Tobago, Grenada
and Saint Vincent, and in tropical South America from Panama, 
Colombia and the Guianas south to Ecuador, Peru and Brazil; in Brazil, the entire Amazon Basin, excluding much of the southeastern Basin. It rarely occurs over 800 m ASL even in the hottest parts of its range and in mountaineous or hilly terrain it inhabits, but has been recorded as high as 1,300 m ASL. It is found in a range of habitats including savanna, open woodland, and cultivation.

Description

The Short-tailed Swift is about 10.5 cm long, and weighs 20 g. It has long narrow wings, a robust body and a short tail. The sexes are similar. It is mainly black with a pale rump and tail. It can be distinguished from related species in its range, such as the Band-rumped Swift(C. spinicauda) or the Gray-rumped Swift (C. cinereiventris) by the lack of contrast between the rump and the tail, the latter being much darker in the other species.

Behaviour

It is very gregarious and forms communal roosts when not breeding. Predation by bats at the nest sites has been suspected. The flight call is a rapid chittering sti-sti-stew-stew-stew.

Breeding

The nest is a 5 cm wide shallow half-saucer of twigs and saliva attached to a vertical surface. This is often a man-made structure like a chimney or manhole, as with its relative, the Chimney Swift (C. pelagica), but natural caves and tree cavities are also used. Up to seven white eggs (average 3 or 4) are incubated by both parents for 17–18 days. The young leave the nest in a further two weeks, but remain near it, clinging to the cavity wall without flying, for another two weeks.

Feeding

The swift feeds in flight on flying insects, including winged ants and termites.

>Chaetura vauxi (Vaux's Swift)

Vaux's Swift

Vaux's Swift
Flock swirling into a 1920s elementary school chimney to roost for the night.
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Apodiformes
Family:	Apodidae
Genus:	Chaetura
Species:	C. vauxi
Binomial name
Chaetura vauxi (Townsend, 1839)

Vaux's Swift (Chaetura vauxi) is a small swift native to North America and northern South America. It was named for the American scientist William Sansom Vaux.

Description

This is a small swift, even compared to other Chaetura species, at 10.7 to 11.2 cm long and weighing 18 g. The northern populations are slightly larger at 11.5 cm, probably according to the Bergmann's Rule, and/or migration requirements. It has a cigar-shaped body, crescentic wings and a short bluntly squared-off tail. The head, upperparts and wings are dusky black, and the underparts, rump and tail coverts are greyish brown. The throat is paler grey, becoming whitish in northern birds. The sexes are similar, but juveniles have dusky bases to the throat feathers.

Distribution and habitat

Vaux's Swift breeds in highlands from southern Alaska to central California and from southern Mexico, the northern Yucatán Peninsula, to eastern Panama and northern Venezuela. The United States' populations are migratory, wintering from central Mexico south through the Central American breeding range. The resident breeding birds in the southern part of the range are sometimes considered a separate species, Dusky-backed Swift, Chaetura richmondi. Preferred habitats include old growth coniferous or deciduous forests consisting of coniferous and deciduous vegetation; requires large, hollow trees for nesting.

Behaviour

This is a gregarious species, with flocks of 30 or more birds, and often with other swift species, such as White-collared, especially at weather fronts. It flies with a mixture of stiff wing-beats and unsteady glides. It has more varied calls than others in the genus, with a mixture of chattering, buzzes, squeaks and chips.

Feeding

The swift feeds in flight on flying insects, including beetles, wasps, termites and flying ants. It forages over forests and more open areas, including towns.

Breeding

Vaux's Swift breeds in the mountains and foothills, from southeastern Alaska and Montana to central California, mainly above 700 m. It builds a cup nest of twigs and saliva on a vertical surface in a dark cavity, such as a tree hole, cliff crevice or attic. It lays three white eggs between March and July. It spends winters in the tropics.

Subspecies

The following subspecies are currently recognized:

• Chaetura vauxi andrei Berlepsch & Hartert, 1902
• Chaetura vauxi aphanes Wetmore & Phelps, 1956
• Chaetura vauxi gaumeri Lawrence, 1882
• Chaetura vauxi ochropygia Aldrich, 1937
• Chaetura vauxi richmondi Ridgway, 1910
• Chaetura vauxi tamaulipensis Sutton, 1941
• Chaetura vauxi vauxi (J. K. Townsend, 1839)

>Mearnsia novaeguineae (Papuan Spine-tailed Swift)

Papuan Spine-tailed Swift

 

Papuan Spine-tailed Swift
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Apodiformes
Family:	Apodidae
Genus:	Mearnsia
Species:	M. novaeguineae
Binomial name
Mearnsia novaeguineae (D’Albertis & Salvadori, 1879)

The Papuan Spine-tailed Swift (Mearnsia novaeguineae), also known as the Papuan Needletail, New Guinea Spine-tailed Swift or Papua Spinetail, is a small (11.5 cm in length), stocky swift with a short, rounded tail and very fast flight. Head and upperparts glossy blue-black, white or whitish belly and undertail coverts, dark underwing with pale central stripe. The small spines at the end of the tail are not visible in flight.

Distribution

Endemic to New Guinea where it is widespread in the lowlands and hills up to 550 m. It has been recorded from Boigu Island, Queensland, Australian territory in north-western Torres Strait.

Habitat

Forest edges, gardens and cleared areas with standing dead trees.

Food

Flying insects.

Breeding

Nests in a high tree hollows.

Conservation

Common and widespread species assessed as being of Least Concern

>Aerodramus vanikorensis (Uniform Swiftlet)

Uniform Swiftlet

Uniform Swiftlet
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Apodiformes
Family:	Apodidae
Genus:	Aerodramus
Species:	A. vanikorensis
Binomial name
Aerodramus vanikorensis (Quoy & Gaimard, 1830)
Synonyms
Collocalia vanikorensis

The Uniform Swiftlet, (Aerodramus vanikorensis), also known as the Vanikoro or Lowland Swiftlet, is a gregarious, medium-sized swiftlet with a shallowly forked tail. The colouring is dark grey-brown, darker on the upperparts with somewhat paler underparts, especially on chin and throat. This species is widespread from the Philippines through Wallacea, New Guinea and Melanesia. It forages for flying insects primarily in lowland forests and open areas. It nests in caves where it uses its sense of echolocation, rare in birds, to navigate.

Description

The Uniform Swiftlet is a gregarious, medium-sized swiftlet with a shallowly forked tail. It is about 13 centimeters long with a wingspan averaging around 27 centimeters. It weighs about 11 grams. The colouring is dark grey-brown, darker on the upperparts with paler underparts, especially on chin and throat. It is similar to, and most likely to be confused with, the White-rumped Swiftlet or Mountain Swiftlet.

Taxonomy

Several subspecies are recognised, and the form A. v. inquietus is often split as the Island Swiftlet, A. inquietus.

Distribution

This species is widespread from the Philippines through Wallacea, 
New Guinea and Melanesia. It has been recorded as a rare vagrant to Australia, from Cape York Peninsula and islands in Torres Strait.

Habitat

The Uniform Swiftlet forages over lowland forests and open areas.

Food

This species feeds on flying insects, especially ants.

Breeding

This species nests colonially in caves where it uses echolocation to navigate. The nest is a shallow cup of mossy material and saliva, usually attached to a vertical surface of a cave wall in the completely dark zone. One or two white eggs form the clutch.

Conservation

This is a common and widespread species assessed as being of Least Concern

>Collocalia (esculenta) natalis (Christmas Island Swiftlet)

Christmas Island Swiftlet

Christmas Island Swiftlet
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Apodiformes
Family:	Apodidae
Genus:	Collocalia
Species:	C. esculenta
Subspecies:	C. e. natalis
Trinomial name
Collocalia esculenta natalis Lister, 1889
Synonyms
Collocalia natalis Collocalia linchi natalis

The Christmas Island Swiftlet (Collocalia esculenta natalis), also known as the Christmas Island Glossy Swiftlet or the Christmas Island Cave Swiftlet, is a small bird in the swift family Apodidae. It is endemic to Christmas Island, an Australian territory in the eastern Indian Ocean.

Taxonomy

The taxon was described in 1889 by Lister. It has usually been considered a subspecies of the Glossy Swiftlet (Collocalia esculenta). However, Christidis and Boles (2008) treat it as a subspecies of the Cave Swiftlet (Collocalia linchi). Here it is kept as a subspecies of the Glossy Swiftlet pending further study of its genome.

Description

The Christmas Island Swiftlet is a small swiftlet some 9-11 cm in length. It is mainly glossy blue-black or green-black above, with dark grey underparts relieved by a prominent white belly and vent.

Distribution and habitat

The swiftlet is restricted to the 135 km² Christmas Island where it is commonly seen in large numbers in flight above the tropical rainforest that covers 75% of the island, as well as over other terrestrial habitats there. It nests mainly in caves in the limestone cliffs surrounding the island.

Behaviour

Breeding

The swiftlet breeds deep in caves, in almost total darkness. It builds a small cup-shaped nest for its clutch of two eggs, high up on the cave wall and often sheltered by a stalactite. The nests are made of dried palm fibres and lichen and are cemented to the cave wall with the bird’s saliva.

Feeding

The swiftlet feeds aerially on flying ants and other insects.

Status and conservation

Garnett & Crowley (2000) considered the swiftlet, along with a suite of Christmas Island’s other endemics, as critically endangered, with the principal threat coming from the yellow crazy ants which were accidentally introduced to the island. The threat is not only that of direct ant predation of swiftlet nestlings, but also indirectly from potentially massive changes to the ecology of the island caused by the ants.However, the swiftlet is not listed as threatened under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

>Mergus serrator (Red-breasted Merganser)

Red-breasted Merganser

Red-breasted Merganser
Male in winter at New Jersey, USA
Female, Thun, Switzerland
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Anseriformes
Family:	Anatidae
Subfamily:	Merginae
Genus:	Mergus
Species:	M. serrator
Binomial name
Mergus serrator Linnaeus, 1758
Red-breasted Merganser range yellow=summer; blue=winter; green=all year
Synonyms
Merganser serrator

The Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator) is a diving duck.

Taxonomy

The Red-breasted Merganser was one of the many species originally described by Linnaeus in his 18th-century work, Systema Naturae.

Juvenile, Florida

Description

The adult Red-breasted Merganser is 51–62 cm (20–24 in) long with a 70–86 cm (28–34 in) wingspan. It has a spiky crest and long thin red bill with serrated edges. The male has a dark head with a green sheen, a white neck with a rusty breast, a black back, and white underparts. Adult females have a rusty head and a greyish body. The juvenile is like the female, but lacks the white collar and has a smaller white wing patch.

Voice

The call of the female is a rasping prrak prrak, while the male gives a feeble hiccup-and-sneeze display call.

Behaviour

It has been claimed to be the fastest bird in level flight, reaching speeds of 161 km/h (100 mph), but is disputed whether the White-throated Needletail is faster, reportedly flying at 170 km/h (105 mph).

Food and feeding

Red-breasted Mergansers dive and swim underwater. They mainly eat small fish, but also aquatic insects, crustaceans, and frogs.

Breeding

Its breeding habitat is freshwater lakes and rivers across northern North America, Greenland,Europe, and Asia. It nests in sheltered locations on the ground near water. It is migratory and many northern breeders winter in coastal waters further south.

Conservation

The Red-breasted Merganser is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.

>Mergus octosetaceus (Brazilian Merganser)

Brazilian Merganser

Brazilian Merganser
Conservation status
Critically Endangered (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Anseriformes
Family:	Anatidae
Subfamily:	Merginae
Genus:	Mergus
Species:	M. octosetaceus
Binomial name
Mergus octosetaceus Vieillot, 1817

The Brazilian Merganser, Mergus octosetaceus, is a duck in the typical merganser genus. It is one of the six most threatened waterfowl in the world with possibly fewer than 250 birds in the wild and none kept in captivity. The origin of its name is from its long, sharp-edged beak that has a great number of teeth-looking edges.

Description

This merganser is a dark, slender duck with a shiny dark-green hood with a long crest, which is usually shorter and more worn-looking in females. Upperparts are dark grey while the breast is light grey, getting paler toward the whitish belly, and a white wing patch is particularly noticeable in flight. It has a long thin jagged black bill with red feet and legs. Although females are smaller with a shorter bill and crest, both sexes are alike in color. The slender ducks range in size from 49 centimeters to 56 centimeters as an adult. Young Brazilian Mergansers are mainly black with white throat and breast.

The Brazilian Mergansers are generally silent birds, but may make barking calls in certain situations. Four calls have been recorded. A harsh krack-krack acts as an alarm call emitted in flight. Males make a barking dog-like call, females make a harsh rrr-rrrr and the contact call ia a soft rak-rak-rak. Ducklings give a high pitched ik-ik-ik.

Breeding

Depending on the availability of suitable nesting and feeding sites, Brazilian Merganser pairs occupy permanent territories of eight to seventeen kilometer stretches of rivers. Tree cavities, rock crevices, or disused burrows predominantly made by armadillos are the ideal places for these mergansers to build their nests. It is thought the breeding season is during the austral winter, when rain is minimal and water levels are low, but it may vary geographically. The Brazilian Merganser usually lays three to six eggs in June and July, with the chicks hatching during the following July and August. The young are capable of flight by September and/or October. Only the female birds incubate the eggs, but both parents care for the young. This is a very unusual behavior in ducks for both parents to help raise the young birds including direct provision of food to young. Adult Brazilian Mergansers are believed to remain on the same territory all year round, but there is not very much information about their movements and dispersal, so information on this is presently speculative in nature.

Fish is the Brazilian Merganser main food, and they also eat Mollusks, insects and their larvae. The birds, usually in pairs, capture fish by diving in river rapids and backwater.

Population

The total world population for Brazilian Mergansers is believed to be less than 250 birds. Originally, the duck's geographical distribution comprised central-south Brazil and adjacent regions in Paraguay and Argentina. Currently, all confirmed populations are located in Brazil and a more recent population in Argentina and information on most populations is very scarce. The Brazilian Merganser population in the Serra da Canastra region is the most significant and best known, with populations occurring hundreds of kilometers away from each other. There are 47 individuals – 28 adults and 19 young – in the Serra de Canastra region as of 2006. Most Mergansers are found in the Serra da Canastra National Park. 70 birds have been seen near the park's headquarters in rio São Francisco. In Jalapão region are estimated 13 individuals in Novo river on 2009/2010 (four couples and some solitary adults).

In 2002, the species was also found on the Arroyo Uruzu in Misiones, Argentina, the first record in the country for ten years, despite extensive surveys done by local researchers conducted throughout previous years. The bird was last reported seen in 1984 in Paraguay, where very little habitat remains; however some local reports show that a few individuals may still be living in the area.

Habitat

The slender Brazilian Mergansers live in low densities in remote and mountainous regions where it inhabits clean rivers and streams with river rapids and riparian vegetation. Brazilian Mergansers are very territorial birds defending large stretches of river and the land surrounding the fast-flowing water. They are recognized as a resident species that do not abandon the watercourses where it established its territory, which some think is a reason the birds are endangered. They don't move or want to move once their habitats have disappeared. The birds need large territories and their habitat is fast dwindling.

Threat

The Brazilian Mergansers are very sensitive to habitat degradation and loss primarily due to human actions. A major threat to the birds' survival is the issue of silting of rivers caused by the expansion of farming activities, mining, watershed degradation and soil erosion, as well as deforestation.

Current traditional soil management and use practices in the region from farming may bring about serious damage regarding conservation ofnatural resources, especially water, on which the Brazilian Mergansers and the farmers themselves are dependent. One of the farming practices here is shifting cultivation. It is common in the region to see farmers burning forest areas causing environmental damage to the natural vegetation and soils and the resident species.

A new threat to the species includes the installation of hydroelectric plants. Hydropower plants are planned to be built in the same rivers that Brazilian Mergansers have been found in Paraná (rio Tibagi), Goiás (rio Paranã) and Tocantins (rio Novo). The hydropower plants are a major threat to the birds' survival because the plants transform systems such as creeks, rivers and streams into turbid lake systems. The project has government backing in spite of the damage it may cause.

Dam-building has also become a major part in the disappearance of these birds. The filling of the Urugua-i reservoir, which took place between 1989 and 1991, had a major impact on Brazilian Mergansers in Argentina. The population declined drastically when its fast-flowing rivers were turned into large lakes. After the Urugua-i dam was built, the birds have only been seen on the Uruzu stream, a tributary of the Urugua-i. The dams flood suitable habitat, especially in Brazil and Paraguay, where the Brazilian Mergansers build their nests and lay their eggs.

Another threat to the Brazilian Merganser is tourism. The scenic beauty of Serra de Canastra National Park brings people from around the world to see the ecotourism landmark. Tourists are attracted to the abundant supply of clear water with over 150 waterfalls in the area.Sporting activities also create a disturbance for the Brazilian Mergansers. Activities such as canoeing and rafting disturb the natural habitats for the Brazilian Mergansers that thrive on the rapid-rivers. With the activities being haphazardly practiced and the increasing amount of facilities being built on the margin of the rivers, they may cause serious threats to the Brazilian Mergansers populations. It disturbs the area of use and their breeding patterns and its habitat due to water course pollution and deforestation.

Other threats include inbreeding, pesticides and predation. Very few individuals survive from these threats and extinction may be imminent. People hunting the birds for food and collecting them for exhibition specimens contributed to the decline of the species.