The swift bird is perhaps known to everyone. It can be seen both in the city and beyond. And this is not surprising, because swifts are one of the most common representatives of birds on the planet. They live on all continents, with the exception of Antarctica and a few islands.
In summer, these birds rush through the air with loud, screech-like cries. People are used to them and no longer pay attention to them, but they do not know that they are seeing truly unusual birds.
Swift bird: description
Here are the main characteristics of the appearance. The body of swifts in length reaches 10-24 centimeters, weight ranges from 50 to 140 grams. The head is large, the eyes are dark, the beak is short and sharp. The wings are curved and long, the tail is forked or straight. The legs are small and weak. The fingers point forward, the claws are sharp.
Basically, the birds have a dark color, black and gray colors predominate, however, white-belted swifts are also found. White color is present, as a rule, on the undertail, throat, belly and forehead. Females and males in appearance do not have differences.
In summer, everywhere, even in large cities, you can observe flocks of dark birds flying in the sky with a squeal. These are black swifts, which are most common in cities. At the same time, in the eastern regions of our country and in some other states, the bulk of the "urban" are white-belted swifts. In general, white and black birds are similar both in appearance and behavior.
Lifestyle
The swift bird belongs to the order of swift-like birds. In general, in nature there are about eighty species of representatives of this order. meet and migratory species, and sedentary individuals. Swifts, as a rule, live in flocks, and prefer to nest in colonies, which in some cases reach several thousand pairs. These birds are active from early morning until evening.
What do swifts eat
The birds in question are highly dependent on temperature. environment and weather conditions, which is their main distinguishing characteristic. If a swift bird is starving, its body temperature can drop to twenty degrees. That is why these birds have the ability to fall into a kind of torpor.
Swifts eat insects, which they catch in the air with their beak, like a net. If food cannot be obtained, the birds plunge into a kind of hibernation and can spend several days in this state until the weather conditions improve. Not only adults, but also chicks of this species have this ability. In "hibernation" they can last for about nine days, while the parents fly several kilometers away in search of food.
Long-distance flights to get food are called weather migration. Wintering bird swift flies away, as a rule, in August. However, again, in this case it all depends on the weather.
reproduction
These birds nest in trees, hollows, rock crevices, burrows and caves. It all depends on the habitat. Birds live in forests, cities, mountains and deserts. Pairs create for life.
The nest of the swift is built from plant fibers, twigs and feathers, which the birds pick up on the fly. Every year the birds return to their former nests. Construction of the dwelling lasts about a week.
Eggs are incubated by females for 16-22 days, at which time the male flies away in search of food. The clutch usually contains white eggs, there may be four or only one.
The chicks do not leave the swift's nest for 33-39 days, depending on weather conditions. Parents feed them several times a day with compressed lumps of saliva and insects. Then the chicks fly away, because they are already fully prepared to live an independent life.
- Swifts cannot swim and walk, but can only sit on tree branches and fly. Therefore, birds drink, eat and even bathe on the fly.
- When bad weather conditions are observed, and the swifts realize that they will not be able to feed the chicks, they throw the eggs out of the nest.
- These are the fastest birds, the flight speed of which can reach 170 kilometers per hour.
- Some species are able to sleep on the fly, while the time of such rest can reach several hours.
- AT wild nature these birds live ten to twenty years.
Difference from swallows
Swifts and swallows are very similar in color and size, so they are often confused. However, upon closer examination, it becomes clear that this different birds. They even belong to different units.
Swifts and swallows are quite comparable in size: the same wingspan, the same body length, but the weight of a young swift is twice the weight of a swallow. They also differ in color. Despite the fact that the plumage of both of them is dark, in swifts it has a greenish tint, there is a small white spot on the chin and throat. A distinctive feature of the swift is also a sharp beak, with which it seems to cut the sky (hence the name).
Swallows have normal bird feet with three fingers pointing forward and one pointing back. Thanks to this structure of the paws, the birds are easily kept on the perch and move along the ground.
Swifts have unique paws. All four fingers point forward, making it very difficult for the birds to keep their balance. This feature determined the manner of sleeping swifts: they hang upside down on a bitch, because they cannot stand. In addition, forward fingers make it difficult to take off from a support, but once the birds take to the sky, it is already forgotten how stupid they look on the ground. In flight, swifts reach speeds of up to 170 km / h, while swallows - only up to 60 km / h.
Another difference is that after wintering, swifts arrive last, while swallows are the harbingers of spring.
Not only on earth, in water, but also in the sky, there are great amount Living creatures. Every day, millions soar in the heavenly heights in various parts of the earth. With the help of wings, they sometimes manage to overcome rather big distances.
Their skill in navigation is still not entirely understood by man. There are large predators among birds, there are heralds of spring, and also those who are not afraid of the cold frosts of the Arctic, there are incredibly beautiful birds, which are often compared with fabulous creatures. Who is the fastest flyer on this list? This place is undoubtedly occupied swift birds.
Features and habitat
Swifts belong to swift-shaped. In their appearance, they are very similar to a swallow, but this is only external signs. In all other respects they are completely different. Swifts are much larger in size and they practically do not sit on the ground.
This bird needs the sky, air, free space. It is possible to meet them literally in any corner of the earth's planet. They are absent only in Antarctica and places close to it due to the too cold climate.
There are a lot of species in the family of swifts, which are united by one common feature - the ability to fly quickly. In fact, swift birds are champions in flight speed. Sometimes it reaches them up to 170 km / h.
High speed in flight is a vital need for these. This is the only way they can survive. Swifts descend to the ground in extremely rare cases, because it is there that they are in great danger from many predators.
Swifts absolutely do not know how to walk and swim, like many of their other feathered counterparts. For this, swifts have too short legs with sharp claws. In flight, you can say their whole life passes.
They drink, eat, look for building materials for their dwellings, and mate in flight. It cannot be said that swifts have perfect maneuverability, but the fact that they are the fastest of all is a fact.
Swifts were endowed by nature with pointed wings, resembling a sickle in flight. Not too big feathered tail bifurcates at the end. The black beak of the swift is inconspicuous, small in size. The body length of the feathered is about 18 cm, its weight is not more than 110 g. The span of pointed wings reaches 40 cm.
Black swift
The color of the feathers of the swift is black-brown tones, shimmering in the sun's rays with green colors. In general, we can say that the nondescript plumage of the swift makes it less noticeable, which helps it survive. The chest of the swift is decorated with a spot of light gray, which is visible only up close.
As for the distinguishing features of females from males, they practically do not exist. They are completely different in color. So you can only distinguish young chicks from more mature ones.
Juveniles are usually grey. The older the swift becomes, the more saturated its plumage becomes. Each feather of a young chick is framed by a light border, which makes the whole color much lighter. Swift has large eyes, they are an excellent and indispensable assistant in search of provisions.
Bird black swift is one of the most famous species of swifts. They master the art of self-take-off from the ground, which is a great achievement for swifts.
They do this by jumping. Listen to the voice of the black swift pure pleasure. In females, the tone is usually high, in males, on the contrary. In a flock, this sounds unusual and original.
If considered carefully photo, swift very much like a dove. Therefore, they are often confused. Birds differ in that the dove descends to the ground and can walk freely on it.
Swift is impossible to notice in the area of the first floors. Most often it is noticeable at the height of the last floors of a high-rise building. It is the swifts who often inform us with their voice about the arrival of spring.
Many are concerned about the question - Is the swift a migratory bird or not? Yes, it is not difficult for these dashing raiders to travel long distances. They often change their location.
A large number of them can be found in Siberia, Finland, Spain, Norway. There are many swifts in the warm regions of Turkey, Lebanon, Algeria, and Israel. They also nest in Europe and Asia. From colder regions they fly to wintering in.
Character and lifestyle
These birds prefer to live in colonies. This lifestyle helps them keep everything under control, observe the changes around them and escape from possible danger in time.
Swifts have a great dependence on the surrounding natural factors, climate and temperature regime. Favourite hobby swifts, if they are not in flight, is their sitting on sheer cliffs, for which they skillfully cling to with sharp claws.
For a swift, good nutrition is important. If they have problems with food, which happens especially often during the cold season, swifts seem to turn on the reduced consumption of their “battery”. In other words, they become less active, as if in a mysterious stupor. This helps the bird to expend energy much less than usual.
This state can last up to several days, before the onset of better weather conditions and the opportunity to get food. It is also typical for small chicks.
But they have another reason for it. In this way, babies can wait for their parents to hunt. The waiting time may be about 9 days. In total, swifts are active from early morning until evening.
Swifts have been migrating for wintering to warmer climes since August. Although it is impossible to determine the exact time on this occasion, it all depends on the weather. If, in general, the weather conditions of the swifts are completely satisfied, the migration may be completely postponed.
Therefore, about some swifts, we can say that they are sedentary. Such sedentary swifts are especially lacking in large cities, where the air temperature is usually higher than in the forest or steppe, for example.
Swift chick
By description bird swift has a fiery personality. They cannot be called cunning or cautious. These big bullies have been seen more than once by the instigators of a fight in their own circle or with other birds.
Often these fights are quite serious. At such moments, swifts forget about any caution and completely indulge in "war". In flight, swifts practically do not interfere or threaten anything. The only one that the swift should be afraid of at the same time is the falcon.
Food
The diet of swifts is made up exclusively of insects. They catch them with their mouth, resembling a net. The throat of a swift can accumulate a very large number of insects. Therefore, these birds are considered excellent helpers in the fight against harmful insects.
The change of residence of this bird may depend on the availability of food in the habitat. As soon as there are fewer insects due to weather conditions, swifts change their place of residence.
Reproduction and lifespan
Puberty of these birds is observed after the first year of life. They become parents after 3 years of life. They actively reproduce for two years after that. The male is looking for his female right in the air. Mating takes place there, and only after that the birds begin to nest.
To do this, they choose places in the rocks and on the banks. City swifts nest comfortably under balconies or roofs. It costs nothing for these bullies to drive smaller birds from their nest.
An important condition when building nests, the height is, they must be located at least 3 meters. After the nest is ready, the females lay 2-3 eggs in it. Hatching them lasts 16-22 days. Cold conditions may increase timing.
Chicks appear one after another with an interval of a day. The first-born is considered the most enduring. The rest do not always cope with the weather conditions and die. Both parents feed the ever-hungry chicks. After 40 days of life, the chicks become independent. Live 20 years.
Swifts make up a separate order of swifts, which has about 80 species. The order also includes two families: crested swifts, which are common in tropical Asia, and swifts, which live everywhere except the polar regions.
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Swift is a small bird, mostly gray with black and white patches. Outwardly, the swift is a bit like. The body length of the bird is from 10 to 12 cm, the weight of adults is about 140 g. The head is large, the beak is sharp and small, the tail is straight, the wings are curved, long, the legs are weak, short. Rainbow black.
Relative to the body, the swift has very short legs, so if the bird is on the ground, then when it tries to take off, its long wings hit the ground and make it difficult to take off.
The plumage of males and females is the same, monophonic, dark, occasionally with a metallic sheen.
The flight of the swift is very different high speeds, some species are capable of speeds up to 120 km / h and above. And swifts also have an unstable body temperature, like most bird species, therefore, in the event of a sharp cold snap, swifts fall into a stupor, short hibernation.
What does it eat
The basis of the diet of swifts is insects flying in the air. Therefore, both the food and the lifestyle of these birds are closely related to weather conditions. For example, when insects disappear due to the onset of cold weather, swifts change their place of residence - they go to roam in search of food.
When swifts are hungry, their body temperature drops significantly, which ends in hibernation, or "trance sleep." Thanks to this adaptive adaptation of the body, swifts can survive hunger from one to ten days. Little chicks with the help of "trance sleep" wait for their parents when they fly long distances in search of food.
Where does it live
Swift can be seen in almost every corner of the planet. The bird is not found only in very cold climatic zones. Swifts live both in forest zones and in open areas.
Mostly swifts like to live in big cities or on coastal cliffs, where it is convenient for birds to nest. Swifts live in large flocks. Large colonies of these birds of several thousand pairs of swifts can be seen in cities or in the mountains.
Among the numerous species of swifts, sedentary and migratory populations are distinguished. But in any case, the activity of these birds does not fall from morning to evening.
Swifts spend almost all the time in flight, only birds devote a couple of hours of the night to sleep. Aircraft swifts have almost perfect, and allows them to overcome hundreds of kilometers. It seems that swifts do not know fatigue.
Common types
The length of the bird reaches 18 cm, the wingspan is about 40 cm, the wing length is about 17 cm, the tail is 8 cm long. The body of the bird resembles a swallow. The tail is forked. The color of the plumage is dark brown with a greenish metallic sheen. The chin and neck are decorated with a round white spot. The iris is dark brown, the beak is black, and the legs are light brown. The plumage of males and females is the same. Chicks are lighter than adults, and their feathers have off-white edges on the tips. In summer, the black swift fades noticeably, and in general, its plumage becomes much lighter.
The horizontal flight speed of the black swift reaches 111 km / h.
The habitat of the species includes central Europe, northern and central regions of Asia. In Russia, the bird is distributed from the western borders to Transbaikalia. Lives mainly in cities.
The wintering grounds of the black swift are located in Africa and southern India. On the way, the birds fly over the entire continent from north to south. Also, this species winters in southeast Asia, in Thailand.
The shape of the body is streamlined, oblong, the wings are long, pointed. The tail is forked. The body length of the bird is from 20 to 23 cm, the wingspan is 51-58 cm, the weight of adults is from 76 to 125 g. Females are slightly smaller in size than males.
The neck and top of the tummy are pure white, there is a dark stripe on the chest. The underparts and upperparts are beige or grey-brown. The beak is black, the iris is brown-black. The paws are beige, the tips of the toes are dark brown with black claws.
The species is distributed in North Africa, Madagascar, southern Europe, central Europe, Western Asia, central Asia, India and Sri Lanka.
The bird lives in the east of Asia. The species is migratory, migrating to southeast Asia and Australia for the winter. In addition to Asia, it was registered in the USA, New Zealand, and in Europe (Denmark, Spain, Sweden, Great Britain). According to the shape of the body and the color of the plumage, it resembles an ordinary swift, but differs from it with a white stripe of the rump. Females and males do not differ from each other; in young birds, the edges of feathers may be pale. A screeching voice.
The body length of the bird is 16-18 cm, the weight is in the range from 32 to 44 g. The tail is short, forked. The body is torpedo-shaped. The wings are long, sickle-shaped. The length of the wings is from 16.5 to 18 cm, the beak is small, about 0.5 cm long.
The pale swift looks like a black swift. But his physique is more stocky, and the plumage is generally lighter, the tummy is brownish. Against the background of the rest of the plumage, a white spot in the throat area stands out in contrast. The cry is piercing, high, consists of a two-syllable "vri-e".
The habitat of the species is North Africa, Southern Europe and the Middle East. Very rare in Central Europe. The bird is migratory, migrates to tropical Africa for the winter.
Male and female: main differences
The swift is not characterized by sexual dimorphism. Only in some species, the male is larger in size than the female.
reproduction
In spring, migratory swifts return to their former habitats. Their memory is excellent, and birds are very attached to nesting places. Only upon returning, the swifts immediately begin to build their nests and lay their eggs. In one clutch, a female swift usually has 2 eggs. The black swift has 4 of them. The female is engaged in incubation for two to three weeks. The male during this period provides food for himself and his wife. After the chicks are born, they remain under the care of their parents for about 40 days, after which they leave the nest forever. The average life expectancy of swifts is from 10 to 20 years.
Voice
Swifts are rather loud and noisy birds. Their call sounds like a high-pitched screech, which consists of chirring and screeching sounds "strrriii" or "weeerrrrri".
- Swifts are capable of reaching speeds of up to 170 km / h, they are real champions in high-speed flight among birds. For example, a swallow flies at a speed of 70 to 80 km/h. But at the same time, swifts can only fly. They cannot swim or walk because their legs are too small for that. When the swift is on the ground, it is difficult for him to take off because of the large wingspan.
- To take to the air, the swift needs a springboard or hill. Therefore, swifts spend most of their lives in flight: they look for food, eat, drink, get building materials for the nest, and even mate. Moreover, these birds can even sleep in flight for several hours, occasionally flapping their wings.
- Some species of swifts build nests from saliva that hardens in the air, they are called "swallow nests", from which they cook the most delicious soup in the world that people eat.
Title options
- The male swift is called - Swift;
- The female swift is called - Female Swift, Swift;
- A chick or a baby swift is called - Strizhonok;
- Swift chicks or cubs are called Swifts.
Rate
Swift order includes 378 species. All these species are part of two suborders: swifts and hummingbirds. The squad of swifts is formed by two families - swifts and crested swifts.
Swifts in flight can reach speeds of up to three hundred kilometers per hour. On the ground, they are more helpless, they can only cling to a vertical rock with sharp claws or sit on a tree or shrub branch. The head is flattened. The beak is short.
A significant part of the representatives of the swift family are modestly colored - gray and black tones predominate in the plumage. The area of distribution of swifts is quite large and covers all continents, with the exception of Antarctica, and some species are characterized by the "habit" of coexisting with humans.
Swifts equip their nests in caves, rock crevices, hollows. Sometimes you can see the nest of a swift on especially large leaves of trees.
Appearance swifts has some similarities with the appearance of swallows. That is why these birds are sometimes confused. One of the distinguishing features of swifts is that in flight they scream quite loudly, which cannot be said about swallows.
Individuals of the crested swift family have a characteristic crest on their heads (hence the name). In addition, they are characterized by the presence of a long forked tail. By the difference in color between the male and female, one can judge such a phenomenon as sexual dimorphism.
Crested swifts make their nests in trees. In this regard, they are often also called tree swifts. The family of crested swifts includes four species, which are combined into one genus.
Swifts are small birds. Relatively. Their body length reaches thirty-three centimeters, and their weight is one hundred and twenty grams.
Swifts are born flyers. Swifts have long strong wings. The wings are sickle-shaped. Thus, the wings of swifts are as well adapted as possible to fast maneuverable flight. Wherein certain types these birds are capable of reaching speeds of up to three hundred kilometers per hour. On the fly, swifts are able to drink and feed, and some even sleep! But although swifts fly perfectly, on the earth's surface they are rather helpless. In many ways, this circumstance is due to the fact that swifts have weak and small legs. The eyes of many species of swifts are covered with short dense feathers from the front and upper sides. These peculiar "eyelashes" are designed to provide the swift with protection from collisions with insects when it flies at high speed.
Some species of swifts make truly amazing nests. It's about about tropical species these birds. For example, the cayenne swift, which inhabits the territories of Central and South America. The nest of this bird is like a vertical pipe. The length of this "structure" reaches sixty-five centimeters. Cayenne swift with the help of saliva sticks together leaves and thin blades of grass. The resulting structure (again with saliva) is attached either to rocky ledges or to thick tree branches. At the bottom of this pipe is the entrance to the nest. Inside there is a small platform that serves as a place for laying eggs. The last of the cayenne swift includes three eggs. No less interesting is the nest that the palm swift builds. This bird is common in South Asia and Africa. The nest of this swift is a flat pad, consisting of feathers and down. The resulting structure is attached with a swift to the underside of the palm leaf. An interesting fact is that you have to glue not only the nest, but also the eggs to it. Newborn chicks hold on to a small shelter on their own with the help of their claws.
Swallow's Nest is a Chinese dish. And very famous. This is actually a specially prepared nest. Only there is one caveat - it does not belong to a swallow at all, but to a swift. The gray salangana, which lives in Polynesia and Southeast Asia (and these birds form large colonies), builds an edible house from saliva. The nest is attached to the wall of the cave.
The gray salangana is a cave dweller. Entire colonies of birds live in large dark caves, but darkness does not at all prevent swifts from moving confidently. In this, the ability of the gray salangana to echolocation (like bats) is of great importance.
Swifts have few enemies. This is relatively true, and it applies to all types of these birds. The main enemy of the swifts is the hobby. It is very difficult for other birds of prey to catch a swift, since it not only flies fast, but also never sits on the earth's surface. During seasonal migrations, swifts may be threatened by other falcon species. Dormouse and some other climbing rodents sometimes pose a danger to chicks. Such a danger is more justified if the swifts build their nest in hollow trees or birdhouses. Sometimes the enemy of the swift is a person. The situation is similar, for example, in the southern part of Europe. Here it is believed that the meat of young swifts has excellent taste. That is why residents often arrange nesting places for swifts themselves. This is done in such a way as to have access to the nest from the inside. Walls and high towers serve as such nesting sites. Residents wait for the moment when the chicks are ready to fly out of the nest, and shortly before that they pull them out of there, after which they eat the chicks' meat for food.
The black swift is a small bird belonging to the genus Swifts. The body length of this bird reaches eighteen centimeters, and the wingspan is forty centimeters. The length of the wing of the black swift (aka the common swift) is on average eighteen centimeters, and the tail is eight centimeters. On the territory of Russia, the black swift is very common. True, from a distance this bird is quite easy to confuse with a swallow. The color of the plumage of the black swift has a dark brown color. The plumage is characterized by a metallic sheen of a greenish tint. There is a white spot on the throat and chin of individuals. Black swifts have dark brown eyes and a black beak. The female and male black swifts have a completely identical plumage color. Small differences exist only in chicks and adults - chicks are somewhat lighter.
The black swift is a migratory bird. It breeds in northern and Central Asia, as well as in central Europe. On the territory of Russia, it can be found from the western borders of the country to Transbaikalia in the east. Settles in towns and cities. Sometimes equips nests in tall forests. For nesting, black swifts use a variety of tall buildings and structures. In parks and forests, respectively, tall trees are used. The nest is built directly in the crevices of stone buildings, under roofs, cornices. Sometimes the nest of the black swift can be found behind the window frames. For wintering, the black swift goes either to South India or Africa. Departure is in August.
The swift picks up building materials for a nest on the fly. Thus, for construction, the swift uses those light "handy" materials that rise into the air with the wind. These can be threads, lumps of vegetable fluff, hair, small leaves, straws, pieces of wool, etc. - all this bird collects in a small flat pile. Next, the swifts glue the collected materials with the help of viscous saliva. The resulting nest has low sides, and the tray is completely invisible. The role of the litter is performed by feathers, which can be either single or in a more significant amount. The diameter of the newly built nest of the black swift varies from eight to nine centimeters, and the height is only one centimeter. The diameter of the tray is on average five centimeters, and its depth is one centimeter. At the same time, the old nests, which have been adjusted more than once by swifts, are characterized by larger sizes. In this case, the diameter of the nest can be fifteen centimeters, height - three centimeters. The diameter of the tray in the old nest already reaches eight, and the depth is two centimeters.
The number of eggs in a clutch of black swifts ranges from two to four. They are characterized by a white monochromatic color. The average size of the eggs is 25x17 millimeters. Egg laying occurs in the first half of June, while the black swift arrives at nesting sites in mid-May. Helpless and naked chicks are born by the end of June and spend about thirty-five days in the nest. The female and male feed their offspring with lumps of small insects. On each arrival to the chicks, parents bring several hundred pieces of such lumps. Within one day, common swifts deliver food to chicks up to thirty times. The chicks leave the nest at the age of five to eight weeks, they immediately begin to fly. At first, the female and male continue to feed their offspring, doing it directly on the fly. In the same way, parents put lumps of insects into the wide-open mouths of their chicks, only they do it in a state of flight. After some time (this happens in August), young chicks become capable of self-feeding.
The common swift spends most of its time in the air. For hours on end, the black swift can fly in search of food. At the same time, this bird fills its mouth with various insects to capacity. By the way, among the insects caught by the swift there are often many harmful ones, thus the swift is of great benefit. During the day, each swift can fly a distance of four hundred and fifty to nine hundred kilometers (and even more). With great speed, they cut through the air, after which they headlong (with one hundred percent accuracy) fly into their nest. In principle, flying swifts are easy to distinguish from swallows. In this case, the weakly forked contour of the tail and the crescent shape of the wings, characteristic of swifts, will help in this matter. Swifts never land on bare ground and grass. Moreover, these birds rarely descend to the level of treetops. If, for various reasons, the swift nevertheless ends up on the earth's surface, then it becomes absolutely helpless. The swift cannot take off from the surface of the soil.
Rainy weather deprives swifts of food resources. This is due to the fact that in such weather insects disappear in the air. There is still a way out of such a difficult situation. As for the chicks, they fall into a stupor. In this state, they do not require food. As for adult birds, they fly to places with more favorable weather fifty to seventy kilometers from the nests. Here they hunt until the end of bad weather.
The black swift is a record-breaking bird. These birds are assigned several specific records among all other birds. For example, a black swift can stay in the air for two or three years absolutely without any break. Moreover, during this time, birds can not eat anything, and, accordingly, do not drink or mate. At the same time, black swifts can cover a distance of up to five hundred thousand kilometers without landing on the surface. In addition, representatives of black swifts have the highest horizontal flight speed. Thus, flying at a speed of one hundred and fifty kilometers per hour for these birds is not at all the limit.
The Mediterranean basin is the center of the range of the white-bellied swift. From this center, the range of these swifts extends, on the one hand, to the Atlas and the mountainous countries of Asia Minor, and on the other hand, to the coast of Portugal, the Pyrenees and the Alps. To the east, white-bellied swifts inhabited territories up to the northern Himalayas. It is not uncommon for the white-bellied swift to build nests far enough outside the borders of this vast area of distribution.
The white-bellied swift is an alpine swift. This is what this bird is called, and rightly so. However, the white-bellied swift is never found in the territory of the Central European Alps in such large numbers as, for example, in the south. AT more these swifts inhabit the southern parts of the Alps. Although many places are known on all the high mountains of Switzerland, where the white-bellied swift builds nests. The Alpine Swift prefers rocks directly adjacent to the sea. Sometimes this bird settles on high buildings. Moreover, having chosen a place on the latter, the swift, with the persistence known to all, again and again returns to it.
The behavior of the white-bellied swift has both similar and different features with the behavior of the black swift. The habits and manners of the white-bellied swift are in general comparable to those of the common swift. however, some aspects of the way of life are still different for these birds. Shortly after arriving at the old nesting site, the white-bellied swift starts building new nests and repairing old ones. Nest material (straw, hay, leaves, etc.) is also collected by these birds while in flight. In addition, white-bellied swifts can collect grass and moss by clinging to rocks and walls. The tool for gluing individual fragments of the future nest together in the white-bellied swift (as well as in the common one) is always with you - this is the secretion of the salivary glands, which are a semi-liquid mass. The appearance of the nest resembles a shallow rounded cup. The width at the top is in the range of ten to twelve centimeters, and the height varies from four to six centimeters. The average depth is three centimeters. The following can help visually imagine the size of the nest: if you imagine that both the offspring and its parents are on the nest at the same time, then the nest ceases to be visible. The beginning of laying, as a rule, falls on the beginning of June. Often, laying begins even before the construction of the nest itself is completed. In this case, the eggs are laid one at a time in two days until there are three or four of them. The eggs of the white-bellied swift have a fine white color. In part, they are similar to gypsum (and not only externally, but also to the touch). An interesting fact is that the shape of the egg can be different - from elongated to very widely oval. The length of the egg usually ranges from twenty-nine to thirty-three millimeters, and the width is from nineteen to twenty-two millimeters. The white-bellied swift, similarly to the common swift, breeds chicks only once a year.
The white-belted swift is a bird widely distributed in East Asia. The size of the white-belted swift is similar to that of the black swift. however, the white-belted swift is very easy to recognize, first of all, by the white bandage in the region of the uppertail. In the south, its distribution area reaches the northern regions of the Mongolian People's Republic. In the east, the white-belted swift inhabits territories up to Kamchatka and the Japanese islands. The Himalayas also become a nesting site for this bird. The white-belted swift nests either in those mountains where there are human settlements, or in the cultural landscape, and the nests themselves are placed in high buildings. building material the white-belted swift uses straws, plant stalks, etc. The clutch contains two or three eggs.
The white-belted swift is a migratory bird. For wintering, these swifts go to Australia, Indochina or the islands of Indonesia. By the way, it is on the wintering grounds of the white-belted swifts that molting occurs.
The palm swift got its name from the place where it nests. And he is satisfied with his swift (as the name implies) exclusively on palm leaves (most often these are coconut palm leaves). And on the inside (that is, the bottom) side. Palm swift has a small size. So, the length of his body barely reaches ten centimeters. The number of these birds is greatest in the territories of the tropical zone of the Eastern Hemisphere. These are South Asia and Africa. Palm swifts glue one or two eggs to the nest. Of which, a little later, completely naked and helpless chicks hatch. They are firmly attached to the nest. At the same time, they are turned head up and chest to the sheets. In a similar position, the chicks are until they are completely feathered (in principle, this process takes place quite quickly). Due to the fact that man has significantly expanded the area of the coconut palm, he has also expanded the area of distribution of the palm swift, making it practically his neighbor in many areas. For example, the palm swift can be found in Northern Thailand, but here coconut palms grow only as a cultural landscape. Moreover, the palm swift can nest on the roofs of those houses that are simply covered with coconut palm leaves.
The mustachioed swift is the largest member of the swift family. The length of his body reaches thirty-three centimeters. This species is common in the Solomon Islands, the Bismarck Archipelago and the Moluccas, and in New Guinea, the mustachioed swift can live in the mountains at an altitude of up to 1200 meters above sea level. The head of the mustachioed swift is decorated with a long mustache (white) and a white eyebrow.
The needle-tailed swift is the largest member of the swift family in Russia. The body length of the needle-tailed swift varies from nineteen to twenty-two centimeters, the wingspan is from forty-eight to fifty-five centimeters, and the weight ranges from one hundred to one hundred and seventy-five grams. The length of the wings of this swift reaches twenty-one centimeters, and the mass is one hundred and forty grams. The swift got its name due to the fact that its tail is cut straight, and the tail ones have needle ends. The lower part of the body has a dark plumage color, and the upper part has a light brown color. The black wings are characterized by the presence of a metallic sheen. The needle-tailed swift is also distinguished by a white rump and a white throat. The needle-tailed swift nests in wooded mountain areas. Nests are built in tree hollows. The clutch contains three to six eggs. He goes to Australia for the winter.
The needle-tailed swift is distinguished by its swift flight. The person who observes it may be surprised by the buzz, the source of which is the sound of the air being cut by the swift. The fact is striking, but in certain areas these birds can accelerate up to three hundred kilometers per hour.
ἄπους "legless") - a genus of birds of the swift family.AT Russian Federation There are 4 species of this genus.
Kinds
- Apus acuticauda- shiny haircut
- Apus affinis- small swift
- Apus alexandri
- Apus apus- black, or tower, swift
- Apus barbatus- cape swift
- Apus batesi- Bates' swift
- Apus berliozi
- Apus bradfieldi
- Apus caffer- white-tailed swift
- Apus horus- Ethiopian swift
- Apus melba (Tachymarptis melba)- white-bellied swift
- Apus niansae- brown swift
- Apus nipalensis
- Apus pacificus- white-rumped swift
- Apus pallidus- pale swift
- Apus unicolor- one-color haircut
Into the genus Apus formerly also included the scaly swift ( Apus aequatorialis), later allocated to the genus Tachymarptis, to which the white-bellied swift is sometimes referred.
Illustrations
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An excerpt characterizing Swifts (genus)
Pierre returned, but not to the fire, to his comrades, but to the unharnessed wagon, which had no one. He crossed his legs and lowered his head, sat down on the cold ground at the wheel of the wagon, and sat motionless for a long time, thinking. More than an hour has passed. Nobody bothered Pierre. Suddenly he burst out laughing with his thick, good-natured laugh so loudly that people from different directions looked around in surprise at this strange, obviously lonely laugh.– Ha, ha, ha! Pierre laughed. And he said aloud to himself: “The soldier didn’t let me in.” Caught me, locked me up. I am being held captive. Who me? Me! Me, my immortal soul! Ha, ha, ha! .. Ha, ha, ha! .. - he laughed with tears in his eyes.
Some man got up and came up to see what this strange man was laughing about. big man. Pierre stopped laughing, got up, moved away from the curious and looked around him.
Previously, loudly noisy with the crackling of fires and the talk of people, the huge, endless bivouac subsided; the red fires of the fires went out and grew pale. High in the bright sky stood a full moon. Forests and fields, previously invisible outside the camp, now opened up in the distance. And even farther than these forests and fields could be seen a bright, oscillating, inviting endless distance. Pierre looked into the sky, into the depths of the departing, playing stars. “And all this is mine, and all this is in me, and all this is me! thought Pierre. “And they caught all this and put it in a booth, fenced off with boards!” He smiled and went to bed with his comrades.
In the first days of October, another truce came to Kutuzov with a letter from Napoleon and an offer of peace, deceptively signified from Moscow, while Napoleon was already not far ahead of Kutuzov, on the old Kaluga road. Kutuzov answered this letter in the same way as the first one sent from Lauriston: he said that there could be no talk of peace.
Soon after this, from the partisan detachment of Dorokhov, who was walking to the left of Tarutin, a report was received that troops had appeared in Fominsky, that these troops consisted of Brusier's division, and that this division, separated from other troops, could easily be exterminated. Soldiers and officers again demanded activity. Staff generals, excited by the memory of the ease of victory at Tarutin, insisted on Kutuzov's execution of Dorokhov's proposal. Kutuzov did not consider any offensive necessary. The average came out, that which was to be accomplished; a small detachment was sent to Fominsky, which was supposed to attack Brussier.
By a strange chance, this appointment - the most difficult and most important, as it turned out later - was received by Dokhturov; that same modest, little Dokhturov, whom no one described to us as making battle plans, flying in front of regiments, throwing crosses at batteries, etc., who was considered and called indecisive and impenetrable, but the same Dokhturov, whom during all the Russian wars with the French, from Austerlitz and up to the thirteenth year, we find commanders wherever only the situation is difficult. In Austerlitz, he remains the last at the Augusta dam, gathering regiments, saving what is possible when everything is running and dying and not a single general is in the rear guard. He, sick with a fever, goes to Smolensk with twenty thousand to defend the city against the entire Napoleonic army. In Smolensk, he had barely dozed off at the Molokhov Gates, in a paroxysm of fever, he was awakened by the cannonade across Smolensk, and Smolensk held out all day. On Borodino day, when Bagration was killed and the troops of our left flank were killed in the ratio of 9 to 1 and the entire force of the French artillery was sent there, no one else was sent, namely the indecisive and impenetrable Dokhturov, and Kutuzov was in a hurry to correct his mistake when he sent there another. And the small, quiet Dokhturov goes there, and Borodino is the best glory of the Russian army. And many heroes are described to us in verse and prose, but almost not a word about Dokhturov.
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