Common Swift

Apus apus (Linnaeus, 1758)

2017-07-19 Issyk kul, south shore	© Malik Nukusbekov

Biology

Common breeding migrant. Inhabits clay or rocky precipices, chinks, caves, villages and towns, steppe forest-patches. Arrives in small flocks in April to early June. Breeds in colonies. Nest is built from pieces of grass, hair and feathers pasted together with saliva; nest is located in tree holes, nest-boxes, precipice cracks or under building roof. Clutch of 2-4 eggs is laid in mid-May – June, juveniles fledge in July. Both parents incubate clutch and care for chicks. Autumn migration begins from end of July in flocks of several dozen to hundred birds. Disappears in most breeding areas until the end of August – early September, odd birds linger up to mid-October.

References

Gavrilov E. I., Gavrilov A. E. "The Birds of Kazakhstan". Almaty, 2005. Э.И.Гаврилов. "Фауна и распространение птиц Казахстана". Алматы, 1999. В.К.Рябицев. "Птицы Урала, Приуралья и Западной Сибири". Екатеринбург, Изд-во Уральского университета, 2000.