DISSEMINATION
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DISSEMINATION |
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| Kingdom | Animalia | 
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| Phylum | Chordata | |
| Class | Aves | |
| Order | Apodiformes | |
| Family | Apodidae | |
| Genus | Apus | |
| Species | apus | |
| Classification | Linnaeus, 1758 | |
| Common name | common swift | |
| Size | 16 - 17 centimeters | |
| Wing Span | 42 - 48 centimeters | |
| Male weight | 36 - 45 grams |
| Geographic Range | the breeding area goes from northern Mediterranean to Scotland, Norway, and Kola peninsula. It reproduces in north-western Africa and in some places in the Middle East. It usually spends winter in sub-Saharan Africa. |
| Physical Characteristics | the plumage is black, wings are long and thin. It keeps wings back in a horseshoe-like shape. It keeps wings in this position even during its low and fast flight. The tail is furcate. The male and the female look a lot like each other. The plumage of the adult is very dark brown, while the throat and the chin are pale. Young look quite different from the adults: their throat is paler and the feathers of the upper part of the body are white bordered. |
| Behaviour | the common swift hunts insects while flying, slowing down the speed of the flight, often together with other swallows. |
| Habitat | towns, villages, ruins, countryside. |
| Flight | it flies with frantic beats of the wings followed by glides against the wind. Paws are so short that that they cannot land; if they land, they cannot fly up anymore. As a consequence they almost always fly. They even mate and sometimes sleep while flying. |
| Food habits | they eat insects caught while they are flying, even at a 1000 meters altitude. |
| Migration | it arrives to our latitudes towards the end of April and leaves for hotter areas, like Africa, at the end of August. |
| Nidification | the nest is built with feathers and vegetal material bound with saliva. It is placed on chimneys, in crevices, under roofs. The female usually lays in June 2 or 3 eggs, which are looked after by both parents. Incubation lasts about 20 days and the young remain in the nest for at least 6 weeks. Towards the end of July the young are fledged and they learn how to fly very quickly and how to move in the air. |
| Sources | |
| References | Oiseaux.net |
| Web References | http://www.oiseaux.net/ http://swift.utigges.il.eu.org/ |
| Source of the photo | http://www.chez.com/pdubois/Oiseaux/ApusApus.html |
| Source of the call | http://swift.utigges.il.eu.org/ |
| Source of the video | http://www.rspb.org.uk/ |
Apus
apus
