Alexander's Swift
Encyclopedia
The Cape Verde Swift or Alexander's Swift (Apus alexandri) is a small bird
of the swift
family found only in the Cape Verde
Islands. It has been recorded from all the islands except Santa Luzia
although it probably breeds only on Santiago
, Fogo
, Brava
, Santo Antão and São Nicolau. It is generally common with a stable population and is not considered to be threatened
. It can be seen flying over all habitats and hunts in flight for insect
s, foraging in flocks over gullies and along cliffs and shorelines.
It is 13 cm long with a wingspan of 34 to 35 cm. The plumage
is dark grey-brown with a large pale throat-patch. Compared to other swifts recorded from the islands it is smaller with shorter wings and a shallower fork to the tail. Its flight action is weaker and more fluttering. It has a high-pitched, screaming call with a buzzing quality.
The nest
is built in a crevice in a cliff, in a cave or in the roof of a building. It is saucer-shaped and made of grass and feathers. The eggs
are white and a clutch
size of two has been reported.
The name Alexander's Swift commemorates Boyd Alexander
, an English
ornithologist who led two expeditions to the islands in 1897.
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
of the swift
Swift
The swifts are a family, Apodidae, of highly aerial birds. They are superficially similar to swallows, but are actually not closely related to passerine species at all; swifts are in the separate order Apodiformes, which they share with hummingbirds...
family found only in the Cape Verde
Cape Verde
The Republic of Cape Verde is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa...
Islands. It has been recorded from all the islands except Santa Luzia
Santa Luzia, Cape Verde
Santa Luzia is an island of the Barlavento archipelago in Cape Verde located between São Nicolau and São Vicente. The area is 35 km² . The highest point is Monte Grande elevating 395 m...
although it probably breeds only on Santiago
Santiago, Cape Verde
Santiago , or Santiagu in Cape Verdean Creole, is the largest island of Cape Verde, its most important agricultural centre and home to half the nation’s population. At the time of Darwin's voyage it was called St. Jago....
, Fogo
Fogo, Cape Verde
Fogo is an island in the Sotavento group of Cape Verde. It is the most prominent of the group, rising to nearly 3,000 m above sea level at Pico do Fogo.-Geography:...
, Brava
Brava, Cape Verde
Brava is an island in Cape Verde. It is the smallest inhabited island, but at the same time the greenest, of Cape Verde, in the Sotavento group. First settled in the 1540s, its population grew after Mount Fogo on neighbouring Fogo erupted in 1675...
, Santo Antão and São Nicolau. It is generally common with a stable population and is not considered to be threatened
Threatened species
Threatened species are any speciesg animals, plants, fungi, etc.) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future.The World Conservation Union is the foremost authority on threatened species, and treats threatened species not as a single category, but as a group of three categories,...
. It can be seen flying over all habitats and hunts in flight for insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s, foraging in flocks over gullies and along cliffs and shorelines.
It is 13 cm long with a wingspan of 34 to 35 cm. The plumage
Plumage
Plumage refers both to the layer of feathers that cover a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage vary between species and subspecies and can also vary between different age classes, sexes, and season. Within species there can also be a...
is dark grey-brown with a large pale throat-patch. Compared to other swifts recorded from the islands it is smaller with shorter wings and a shallower fork to the tail. Its flight action is weaker and more fluttering. It has a high-pitched, screaming call with a buzzing quality.
The nest
Nest
A nest is a place of refuge to hold an animal's eggs or provide a place to live or raise offspring. They are usually made of some organic material such as twigs, grass, and leaves; or may simply be a depression in the ground, or a hole in a tree, rock or building...
is built in a crevice in a cliff, in a cave or in the roof of a building. It is saucer-shaped and made of grass and feathers. The eggs
Egg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
are white and a clutch
Clutch (eggs)
A clutch of eggs refers to all the eggs produced by birds or reptiles, often at a single time, particularly those laid in a nest.In birds, destruction of a clutch by predators, , results in double-clutching...
size of two has been reported.
The name Alexander's Swift commemorates Boyd Alexander
Boyd Alexander
Boyd Alexander was an English British Army officer, explorer and ornithologist.Lieutenant Boyd Francis Alexander was the oldest son of Lt Colonel Boyd Francis Alexander...
, an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
ornithologist who led two expeditions to the islands in 1897.