by Matthew Cobb
Spring is about to give way to summer in the northern hemisphere, and the swifts are back! My favourite bird, the swift (closely related to the nightjar, don’t you know) arrives in Europe at the beginning of May. They produce one clutch of eggs, and then return to Africa in the middle of August. They appear to mate for life, and to return to the same nest box. This charming and apparently unique video from a swift nest-cam shows the moment when a pair meet again, for the first time in nine months.
The video was recorded by staff at the charity BirdLife, who have had a swift nest box and cam installed on the side of their building in Cambridge. The video was recorded from the monitor rather than directly from the camera feed, so initially you can hear sounds from the office.
Although it looks like this is the moment the pair were reunited, we can’t be sure. The BirdLife website is rightly circumspect and says it “most-likely shows a pair re-affirming their bonds in preparation for nesting”. The reasons for this supposition are as follows:
According to local experts, the ‘wing flapping’ behaviour exibited in the video is a way of stopping aggression when the two meet again or when a bird attracts a new partner. However, courtship and encouraging a new prospective partner to use a nestbox are usually rather more drawn-out affairs than the behaviours displayed here, thus it is very likely that this is last year’s pair meeting up again and re-affirming their bond.
Whatever the case, the video gives a unique insight into how these birds interact. My assumption is that the recognition involves sounds and smells, (swifts have huge nostrils) but who knows?
So these would be European, not African, swifts, then? And not swallows? 😉
We need to know that before we can determine their average flight velocity.
Not a bird expert for sure but I believe we have lots of Martins here in southwest Iowa, and believe they are purple martins (Progne subis). Also have Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica). The most skilled flyers of all the birds we have.
In TN, my grandfather would hollow out gourds and put up poles, each holding approximately fifty gourds. Purple Martins would annually return. There was a running contest among local Martin aficionados to see who had the most Martins. Barn Swallows are absolutely gorgeous.
When I mow my pasture in south central Illinois (Cumberland County) swifts dart along the field in the wake of my tractor catching the insects I kick up from mowing. I’m thinking of putting in some nesting boxes.
exactly the same for me here in Iowa, only it is the Martins flying circles around you while mowing. It is quite the show.
I’d struggle to nominate a single favourite species but the swift is without doubt right up there in the ‘joint favourite’ spot! They are wonderful birds that eptomise the summer. It is always a delight to see the first ones returning in May and then a little sad when you suddenly realise in August that it is a day or two since you last heard one screaming.
Spring is about to give way to summer in the northern hemisphere, and the swifts are back!
I strongly suggest the Swifts to return whence they came, then, unless they’ve taken wintercoats and eggwarmers with them.
And it’s possible to see a spectacular Hippoboscidae running around on one of the birds!
At about 1:10 in the video a big, spidery ectoparasite (one of the wingless flies that parasitize birds, hippoboscidae, maybe) suddenly pops up from the males back, scuttles around, then burrows in again!
Kind of creepy.
I didn’t notice that the first time. That was creepy…
Great spot! MC
Yes, it’s a hippoboscid – most likely Crataerina pallida. If you ever get the chance to hold a swift, you may well find one of these running up the back of your neck a few hours later!
So reading this most people will pledge to never hold a wild bird. Actually, I would not mind the experience. The only invertebrate that I do not like to discover on me are leeches.
Yuh reckon hippoboscid are purty good eatin’?
Nightjars are in a different order I’m sure. They do share an order with hummingbirds though.
Many videos of swifts on the nest seem to show some kind of creepy crawly scuttling over them.
‘Order’ is only one arbitrary layer in the nested (nest-boxed?) hierarchy, though. There is a clade comprising Caprimulgiformes and Apodiformes, named Strisores by Mayr (2009).
Here’s Jerry’s post on the new bird phylogeny. Spot the nightjar (and the swift!): https://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2015/04/06/the-new-family-tree-of-birds-spot-the-nightjar/
The swift is definitely my favourite. I love the way that they’re just sort of – well, brown when they are so spectacular in every other respect. I’m spotting fewer this year in my town though, and hope it’s just my bad luck and nothing more sinister…
The best place I’ve been for swallows and swifts is here:
http://www.breconbeaconstourism.co.uk/attractions/item/67857/Tretower_Court_and_Castle.html
Swallows nest in the court and wheel around the ruined castle all summer, and a few steps across the road is a spot where I witnessed the most amazing aerialist showcase of swifts and swallows over a recently mowed field. I’m going to stick my neck out and describe it as awesome. I promise to send video when we return this summer and all may judge for themselves.
They lift my heart, swifts do!
The Inkspots have a pretty good version of “When the Swallows Come Back to Capistrano.”
Very interesting video, parasite and all!