Alpine swift
| Alpine swift | |
|---|---|
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| Flying in Attica | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Clade: | Strisores |
| Order: | Apodiformes |
| Family: | Apodidae |
| Genus: | Tachymarptis |
| Species: | T. melba
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| Binomial name | |
| Tachymarptis melba | |
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| Range of T. melba Breeding Resident Non-breeding Vagrant (seasonality uncertain) Possibly Extant (passage)
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| Synonyms | |
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The Alpine swift (Tachymarptis melba) formerly Apus melba, is a species of swift found in Africa, southern Europe and Asia. They breed in mountains from southern Europe to the Himalaya. Like common swifts, they are migratory; the southern European population winters further south in southern Africa. They have very short legs which are used for clinging to vertical surfaces. Like most swifts, they never settle voluntarily on the ground, spending most of their lives in the air living on the insects they catch in their beaks.
Taxonomy and systematics
The genus name is from the Ancient Greek takhus, "fast", and marptis, "seizer". The specific name melba comes from ‘melano-alba’ or ‘mel-alba’[2], the two colours that Linnaeus referred to these in his description.[3] A total of ten sub-species are currently recognised (see distribution below).[4]
Description and biology
This is a large swift measuring 20-22 cm in length with a wingspan of 54-60 cm with broad wings and tail with a shallow fork[4], superficially similar to a large barn swallow or house martin although unrelated to these two species, since swifts are in the order Apodiformes. The resemblance could be due to convergent evolution, reflecting similar lifestyles.
Alpine swifts breed in mountains from southern Europe to the Himalaya. Like common swifts, they are strongly migratory, and winter much further south in southern Africa. They wander widely on migration, and are regularly seen in much of southern Europe, middle east, and Asia. The species seems to have been much more widespread during the last ice age, with a large colony breeding, for example in the Late Pleistocene Cave No 16, Bulgaria, around 18,000–40,000 years ago.[5] The same situation has been found for Komarowa Cave near Częstochowa, Poland during a period about 20,000–40,000 years ago.[6]
These apodiformes build their nests in colonies in a suitable cliff hole or cave, laying two or three eggs. Swifts will return to the same sites year after year, rebuilding their nests when necessary, and pairing for life. Young swifts in the nest can drop their body temperature and become torpid if bad weather prevents their parents from catching insects nearby. They have adapted well to urban conditions, frequently nesting in old buildings in towns around the Mediterranean, where large, low-flying flocks are a familiar feature there in summer. Alpine swifts have a short forked tail and very long swept-back wings that resemble a crescent or a boomerang but may (as in the image) be held stretched straight out. Their flight is slower and more powerful than that of their smaller relatives, with a call that is a drawn-out twittering (listen at right).
Alpine swifts are readily distinguished from the common swifts by their larger size and their white belly and throat. They are around twice as big as most other swifts in their range, about 20 to 23 cm (7.9 to 9.1 in) in length, with a wingspan of 57 cm (22 in) and a weight of around 100 g (3.5 oz).[7] By comparison, the common swift has a wingspan of around 42 cm (17 in). They're largely dark brown in colour with a dark neck band that separates the white throat from the white belly. Juveniles are similar to adults, but their feathers are pale edged.[8]
Distribution and habitat
It is found all year-round in eastern and southern Africa, Madagascar, western peninsular India and Sri Lanka, with larger non-breeding distributions in western, eastern and southern Africa, parts of the western edge of the Arabian peninsula, and breeding across southern Europe in the west across Central Asia and along the Himalayas in the east. The distribution of the 10 sub-species are: (1) A. m. melba (76-120g)[4] described originally by Linnaeus (1758) with type-locality Gibraltar distributed across southern Europe (east from Iberian Peninsula) and northern Morocco and east through Asia Minor to northwest Iran and wintering in west, central and east Africa, (2) A. m. tuneti (95-110g)[4] described by von Tschusi in 1904 with type-locality in Tunisia and distributed across central and eastern Morocco eastwards to Libya and through Middle East and Iran (except northwest where A. m. melba) to southeast Kazakhstan and upto western Pakistan, and wintering in west and east Africa, (3) A. m. archeri described by Hartnert (1928) with type-locality Hargeisa, in Somaliland distributed from the Dead Sea depression at the borders of Israel and Jordan, south to southwest Arabia and Somalia, (4) A. m. africanus (67-87g)[4] described by Temminck (1815) with type-locality in South Africa distributed across east and southern Africa and southwest Angola with some populations of this sub-species wintering in east Africa, (5) A. m. maximus (128g)[4] described by Ogilvie-Grant (1907) with type-locality in the eastern slopes of the Rwenzori mountains at 10,000-12,000 ft distributed across Uganda and DR Congo, (6) A. m. marjoriae described by R D Bradfield (1935) from Quickborn, Damaraland distributed in Namibia and adjacent western South Africa in the northwestern parts of Northern Cape, (7) A. m. willsi described by Ernst Hartnert (1896) from Madagascar and endemic to the island, (8) A. m. nubifugus described by Koelz (1854) distributed across the Himalayas and wintering in central India, (9) A. m. dorabtatai described by Abdulali (1965) distributed in western peninsular India, (10) A. m. bakeri described by Hartert (1928) from Sri Lanka distributed only on that island-nation.
Behaviour and ecology
Alpine swifts spend most of their lives in the air, living on the insects they catch in their beaks. They drink on the wing, but roost on vertical cliffs or walls. A study published in 2013 showed Alpine swifts can spend over six months flying without having to land.[9] All vital physiological processes, including sleep, can be performed while in air.
In 2011, Felix Liechti and his colleagues at the Swiss Ornithological Institute attached electronic tags that log movement to six alpine swifts and it was discovered that the birds could stay aloft in the air for more than 200 days straight.[10]
References
- ^ BirdLife International (2016). "Tachymarptis melba". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22686774A86109107. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22686774A86109107.en. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
- ^ Eigenhuis, K J; Swaab, J. "Etymology of specific epithet 'melba'". Dutch Birding. 14: 100.
- ^ Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm dictionary of scientific bird names : from aalge to zusii. London: Christopher Helm. ISBN 978-1-4081-3326-2. OCLC 659731768.
- ^ a b c d e f Chantler, Philip; de Juana, Eduardo; Kirwan, Guy M.; Boesman, Peter F. D. (2020-03-04), Billerman, Shawn M.; Keeney, Brooke K.; Rodewald, Paul G.; Schulenberg, Thomas S. (eds.), "Alpine Swift (Apus melba)", Birds of the World, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, doi:10.2173/bow.alpswi1.01, retrieved 2022-01-26
- ^ Boev, Z. 1998. A range fluctuation of Alpine swift (Apus melba (L., 1758)) (Apodidae - Aves) in Northern Balkan Peninsula in the Riss-Wurm interglacial. - Biogeographia, Nuova Serie, Siena, Vol. 19, 1997: pp. 213–218.
- ^ Tomek, Teresa & Bocheński, Zygmunt (2005): "Weichselian and Holocene bird remains from Komarowa Cave, Central Poland". Acta zoologica cracoviensia, Vol. 48A, (1-2): pp. 43–65.
- ^ BTO Birdfacts - Alpine swift, British Trust for Ornithology, BTO.org website.
- ^ Stevenson & Fanshawe. Field Guide to the Birds of East Africa: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Elsevier Science, 2001, ISBN 978-0856610790.
- ^ Felix Liechti; Willem Witvliet; Roger Weber; Erich Bächler. "First evidence of a 200-day non-stop flight in a bird", Nature website, Nature Communications, article number: 2554, received 11 January 2013, published: 8 October 2013, doi:10.1038/ncomms3554 (subscription).
- ^ Stromberg, Joseph. This Bird Can Stay in Flight for Six Months Straight: A lightweight sensor attached to alpine swifts reveals that the small migratory birds can remain aloft for more than 200 days without touching down, Smithsonian Magazine website, 8 October 2013.
External links
- Ageing and sexing (PDF; 2.3 MB) by Javier Blasco-Zumeta & Gerd-Michael Heinze
- Alpine swift - Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds
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