Topic
Common swift
About: Common swift is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 27 publications have been published within this topic receiving 419 citations. The topic is also known as: Apus apus.
Papers
TL;DR: It is demonstrated that new technology may drastically change views about migration routes and strategies in small birds, as well as showing the unexpected use of very limited geographical areas during migration that may have important consequences for conservation strategies for migrants.
Abstract: The tracking of small avian migrants has only recently become possible by the use of small light-level geolocators, allowing the reconstruction of whole migration routes, as well as timing and speed of migration and identification of wintering areas. Such information is crucial for evaluating theories about migration strategies and pinpointing critical areas for migrants of potential conservation value. Here we report data about migration in the common swift, a highly aerial and long-distance migrating species for which only limited information based on ringing recoveries about migration routes and wintering areas is available. Six individuals were successfully tracked throughout a complete migration cycle from Sweden to Africa and back. The autumn migration followed a similar route in all individuals, with an initial southward movement through Europe followed by a more southwest-bound course through Western Sahara to Sub-Saharan stopovers, before a south-eastward approach to the final wintering areas in the Congo basin. After approximately six months at wintering sites, which shifted in three of the individuals, spring migration commenced in late April towards a restricted stopover area in West Africa in all but one individual that migrated directly towards north from the wintering area. The first part of spring migration involved a crossing of the Gulf of Guinea in those individuals that visited West Africa. Spring migration was generally wind assisted within Africa, while through Europe variable or head winds were encountered. The average detour at about 50% could be explained by the existence of key feeding sites and wind patterns. The common swift adopts a mixed fly-and-forage strategy, facilitated by its favourable aerodynamic design allowing for efficient use of fuel. This strategy allowed swifts to reach average migration speeds well above 300 km/day in spring, which is higher than possible for similar sized passerines. This study demonstrates that new technology may drastically change our views about migration routes and strategies in small birds, as well as showing the unexpected use of very limited geographical areas during migration that may have important consequences for conservation strategies for migrants.
195 citations
TL;DR: The data show that swifts are airborne for >99% of the time during their 10-month non-breeding period; some individuals never settled, but occasional events of flight inactivity occurred in most individuals.
120 citations
TL;DR: A novel model for estimating the energetic flight economy of flap-gliding animals is introduced, based on empirical lift-to-drag ratio estimates for continuous flapping flight and for continuous gliding flight, which shows that flap- Gliding flight that is naturally used by common swifts is indeed the most economic one of the two flight modes, while this is not the case for the non-flap- gliding lesser long-nosed bat.
51 citations
TL;DR: The annual breeding success of the pallid swift appears little influenced by weatherchanges, due to a lesser impact of adverse conditions in Southern climates and the possibility, for this species, of shifting the laying period m response to a temporaryworsening of climatic conditions.
Abstract: Marco Cucco, Giorgio Malacarne, Gualtiero Orecchia and Giovanni BoanoCucco, M , Malacarne, G , Orecchia. G and Boano. G 1992 Influence of weatherconditions on pallid swift Apus pallidus breeding success - Ecography 15 184-189The reproductive ecology of three colonies of pallid swift in a warm continentalclimate (Piedmont, NW-Italy) was studied over a ten years period About 60% of theclutches were laid in late May and June, but continued until late August andSeptember, when some females laid a second clutch Clutch size and the meannumber of fledged young decreased progressively from spring to autumnLaying dates were influenced by ram and temperature unfavourable weather condi-tions dunng May induced most females to postpone egg laying until June Clutch sizewas not related to the rain or temperature parameters consideredThese observations differ from the findings about the common swift studied in cooltemperate areas, where a very short stay in the breeding colonies does not allow adelay in laying, and spnng weather conditions therefore have a strong influence onclutch size There are also differences about the effect of weather on chick rearingIn warmer climates, typical of our colonies, fledging success is hindered both by toodry or too rainy seasons, even if these situations very rarely occur and the three-eggclutch IS always the most productive In colder climates the breeding success of thecommon swift depends pnmanly on the climatic conditions of May. and m badweather a two-egg clutch is more productive than a clutch of three In summary, theannual breeding success of the pallid swift appears little influenced by weatherchanges, due to a lesser impact of adverse conditions in Southern climates and thepossibility, for this species, of shifting the laying period m response to a temporaryworsening of climatic conditionsM Cucco, G Malacarne and G Orecchia, Dipartimento di Bwlogia Animate, Univdi Torino, Via Accademia Atbertma, 17, 1-10123 Torino, Italy - G Boano, Museo diStona Naturale di Carmagnola, Cascina La Vigna, 1-10022 Carmagnola, ItalyTtitrndiirfinn ^ ^^^^ increases from sf)ecies living at high latitudes tothose breeding in tropical areas (Lack f 954) TaxonomySeveral factors are known to influence both the length (Lack and Lack 1951) and colonial habits (Hogstedtof the breeding season and clutch-size of birds (Pernns f 980) could be other factors in maintaining a remarka-and Birkhead 1983) Among them, geographical and bly constant clutch size (two or three eggs) throughoutecological factors such as latitude (Wyndham 1986, Ku- the group. Chmate, on the other hand, has been consid-lesza 1990) and climate (Lack 1947, Immelman f971, ered as the main factor affecting swift reproductionMurphy and Haukioja f 986) play a fundamental role. According to Lack and Lack (1951), the most produc-although other factors, such as taxonomy and body size tive clutch size of the common swift Apiis apus (2 or 3(Saether 1985) must also be taken into account. eggs) is dependent on weather conditions In fine-In swifts (Apodiformes), latitude influences the weather years m England the parents can successfullylength of the breeding season the number of broods in raise three young, while in poor weather conditions theAccepted 18 June 1991
22 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the environmental and geographical factors best explaining the arrival patterns of common swift and barn swallow in the Iberian Peninsula, in a search for common ecological constraints on these two migratory species.
Abstract: Aim Still poorly understood, the main migratory pathways for most trans-Saharan species pass through the Iberian Peninsula, which acts as a gateway to the European–African migratory system. Arrival patterns in this region for the common swift (Apus apus) and barn swallow (Hirundo rustica), of similar morphology and flight capabilities, were described, and the environmental and geographical factors best explaining them were examined, in a search for common ecological constraints on these two migratory species.
Location Latitude ranged from 36.02 to 43.68°N, longitude from 9.05°W to 3.17°E, and altitude from 0 to 1595 m a.s.l. for 482 common swift and 812 barn swallow Spanish localities spread widely over the Iberian breeding grounds of the two species.
Methods Our data set, covering the years 1960–1990, consisted of 3206 first-arrival dates for common swifts and 6036 for barn swallows. Forty topographical, climatic, river basin, geographical and spatial variables were used as explanatory variables in general regression models (GRMs). GRMs included polynomial terms up to cubic functions in all variables when they were significant. A backward stepwise selection procedure was applied in all models until only significant terms remained. GRMs were applied in two steps. First, we searched for the best model in each one of the five types of variables (topographical, climatic, river basin, geographical and spatial). To cope with the unavoidable correlation between explanatory variables, the relative importance of each type of variable was assessed by hierarchical variance partitioning. Secondly, we searched for that model able to explain the maximum amount of the observed variability in arrival date. To obtain this model all significant explanatory variables were subjected jointly to a GRM. Spatial variables were then added to this model to take any remaining spatial structure in the data into account. Moran's I autocorrelation coefficient was used to check for spatial autocorrelation.
Results Both species arrived earlier in the south-western Iberian Peninsula, where summers are warmer and drier. From there, both species followed the main southern Iberian river basins towards the north-east; however, several mountainous regions impede the colonization of eastern Iberia. The best models for each type of variable explained 19–47% of the variability in common swift arrival dates and 14–44% in barn swallow arrival dates. Variance partitioning indicated that climatic and geographical variables best explained variability. The best predictive models built with all variables accounted for 52% of the variability in common swift arrival dates and 50% for the barn swallow. Residuals from both models were not spatially autocorrelated, an indication that all major spatially structured variation had been accounted for.
Main conclusions Spring arrival patterns are highly dependent on the geographical configuration of the Iberian Peninsula. This spatial constraint forces both species to converge very closely in their spring migration, because common swifts and barn swallows are subject to a trade-off between optimum migratory pathways and territories ecologically suitable for breeding.
20 citations
Related Topics (5)
Performance Metrics
| Year | Papers |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 3 |
| 2019 | 2 |
| 2018 | 1 |
| 2017 | 2 |
| 2016 | 1 |
| 2015 | 1 |