Common swift

    Apus apus

Castilian: Vencejo común

Catalan: Falciot negre

Gallego: Cirrio

Euskera: Sorbeltz arrunta

CLASIFICACIÓN:

Orden: Apodiformes

Family: Apodidae

Migratory status: Summer resident

CONSERVATION STATUS:

On the National List of Threatened Species, it appears in the “Of Special Interest” category. In the 2004 edition of the Red Book of Spanish Birds (Libro Rojo de las Aves de España) it is listed as “Not Evaluated”..

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THREATS

It is not a threatened species, but it could be affected by urban atmospheric pollution, pesticides, and the loss of places to nest due to renovations in old buildings, given that it is difficult for the bird to nest in new ones.

Length / size: 17 cm / 45 cm

Identification: Swift with the typical crossbow shape. Its bill and legs are very short, its tail is slightly forked and its wings are very long and narrow. It is a uniform dark brown, almost black, colour, except for its throat, which is white. It spends most of its life in flight and in groups.

Song: It makes a brief, monotonous and high-pitched screech: females make a "sweeee" and males a "sreeee", which, when heard together, produces this species' typical song.

Diet: It feeds on small flying insects, such as bugs, flies, mosquitos, and above all ants, which it captures by making sweeps in flight with its mouth open like a butterfly net; it avoids those insects that have stingers. It also drinks in flight.

Reproduction: It begins in May, and the species is colonial. They copulate both in the nest and in flight. The nest is made of feathers and plant matter stuck together with saliva, and it positioned in holes in buildings or, to a lesser extent, in crags, slopes, or holes in trees. When adverse conditions are present, the adults can abandon the breeding site and leave the chicks alone, and they can survive a week without eating thanks to their fat reserves and the slowing down of their metabolism.

HABITAT

It is independent from its habitat except when nesting. It requires areas with flying insects, water and hollows where it can install its nest. In Spain it primarily nests in human structures, especially in buildings.

DISTRIBUTION

In Spain: It occupies the Iberian Peninsula, the Balearic Islands, Ceuta and Melilla, and also on four specific islands of the Canary Island archipelago.

In Castile and León: It is distributed throughout the entire community.

Movements and migrations: It is a long-distance migratory species that winters in southern Africa. They being to arrive to Spain in mid-March, but they later abandon their breeding areas in late July. Thus, their passages through the Strait of Gibraltar take place in March-May and August-September.

POPULATION

In Spain: There is an estimated population of at least one million breeding pairs, although there are probably a few million.

In Castile and León: