Bird name:

Common Swift

Apus apus

Order

APODIFORMES

Family

Swifts (Apodidae)

Code 4

COSW

Code 6

APUAPU

ITIS

178010

Breeding Location:

Grassland with scattered trees

Breeding Type:

Monogamous

Breeding Population:

Egg Color:

White

Number of Eggs:

2 - 3

Incubation Days:

Egg Incubator:

Female

Nest Material:

Clay, blades of grass, straw and leaves glued together with bird's gelatinous saliva.

Migration:

Migratory

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General

Common Swift: Medium-sized swift, dark brown overall with white chin and dark, forked tail. Sexes are similar. Juvenile has paler throat and white-edged feathers on back.

Range and Habitat

Common Swift: Found in Europe and Asia over lakes and wetlands. One North American record was reported from on St. Paul Island, Alaska on 28 June 1950.

Breeding and Nesting

Common Swift: Two to three white eggs are laid in a nest made of clay, grass, straw, and leaves glued together with saliva. Nest is lined with hairs and feathers and built in a building. Incubation ranges from about 18 days and is carried out by the female; male bring her food on the nest.

Foraging and Feeding

Common Swift: Eats insects caught in flight.

Vocalization

Common Swift: Makes a loud, shrill scream.

Similar Species

Common Swift: None in range.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Chin

The area of the face just below the bill.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America