Horus Swift
Encyclopedia
The Horus Swift, Apus horus, is a small bird
in the swift
family. It breeds in sub-Saharan
Africa
. It has an extensive continuous distribution from eastern and southern South Africa
north to southern Zambia
and central Mozambique
, and has recently colonised the De Hoop Nature Reserve
area of the Western Cape.
It also occurs very discontinuously in much of the rest of the sub-Saharan region, with the Ethiopia
n mountains and the area from central Kenya
into Uganda
having large populations. Identification difficulties confuse the limits of this species’ range.
Birds in South Africa are migratory
, wintering further north. Other populations are resident apart from local movements.
The Horus Swift breeds in old burrows of bee-eater
s, Ground Woodpecker
s, kingfisher
s and martins
, which are typically in natural or artificial sandy banks. The flat nest of vegetation and hair, glued with saliva is built at the end of the tunnel and 1-4 eggs are laid. The eggs are incubated for 28 days to hatching, and the fledging period is about 6 weeks.
This species is not colonial, but the nature of its breeding habitat means that a number of pairs may be scattered through a bee-eater or Banded Martin
colony. It feeds at middle levels over adjacent habitats, but avoids large towns.
The Horus Swift is 13-15 cm long and quite bulky. It appears entirely blackish except for a white patch on the chin and a white rump. It has a medium length forked tail. It has a fluttering flight like Little Swift
. Little Swift has a square tail, and more extensive white on the rump than Horus, and White-rumped Swift
has a more deeply forked tail and a narrower white band. The call is a buzzing peeeeooo, peeeeooo.
The paler subspecies A. h. fuscobrunneus of southwestern Angola
has a small grey throat patch and a brown rump. The form toulsoni of northwestern Angola and Zimbabwe
is a dark morph of nominate A. h. horus, with a dark rump and small throat patch. Both dark forms have sometimes been split as separate species.
Horus
, whose name this bird commemorates, was the ancient Egypt
ian god of the sun, son of Osiris
and Isis
.
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...
in 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. It breeds in sub-Saharan
Sahara
The Sahara is the world's second largest desert, after Antarctica. At over , it covers most of Northern Africa, making it almost as large as Europe or the United States. The Sahara stretches from the Red Sea, including parts of the Mediterranean coasts, to the outskirts of the Atlantic Ocean...
Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. It has an extensive continuous distribution from eastern and southern South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
north to southern Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
and central Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
, and has recently colonised the De Hoop Nature Reserve
De Hoop Nature Reserve
De Hoop Nature Reserve is a nature reserve in the Western Cape Province of South Africa.It lies three hours from Cape Town in the Overberg region, near Cape Agulhas, the southern tip of Africa. Approximately 340 square kilometres in area, it is one of the largest natural areas managed by...
area of the Western Cape.
It also occurs very discontinuously in much of the rest of the sub-Saharan region, with the Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
n mountains and the area from central Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
into Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
having large populations. Identification difficulties confuse the limits of this species’ range.
Birds in South Africa are migratory
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
, wintering further north. Other populations are resident apart from local movements.
The Horus Swift breeds in old burrows of bee-eater
Bee-eater
The bee-eaters are a group of near-passerine birds in the family Meropidae. Most species are found in Africa and Asia but others occur in southern Europe, Australia, and New Guinea. They are characterised by richly coloured plumage, slender bodies, and usually elongated central tail feathers...
s, Ground Woodpecker
Ground Woodpecker
The Ground Woodpecker is one of only three ground-dwelling woodpeckers in the world . It inhabits rather barren, steep, boulder-strewn slopes in relatively cool hilly and mountainous areas of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland and has yet to be recorded outside of Southern Africa...
s, kingfisher
Kingfisher
Kingfishers are a group of small to medium sized brightly coloured birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species being found in the Old World and Australia...
s and martins
Swallow
The swallows and martins are a group of passerine birds in the family Hirundinidae which are characterised by their adaptation to aerial feeding...
, which are typically in natural or artificial sandy banks. The flat nest of vegetation and hair, glued with saliva is built at the end of the tunnel and 1-4 eggs are laid. The eggs are incubated for 28 days to hatching, and the fledging period is about 6 weeks.
This species is not colonial, but the nature of its breeding habitat means that a number of pairs may be scattered through a bee-eater or Banded Martin
Banded Martin
The Banded Martin or Banded Sand Martin, Riparia cincta, is a small passerine bird in the swallow family.The Banded Martin is found in open habitats such as farmland, grassland and savannah, usually near water...
colony. It feeds at middle levels over adjacent habitats, but avoids large towns.
The Horus Swift is 13-15 cm long and quite bulky. It appears entirely blackish except for a white patch on the chin and a white rump. It has a medium length forked tail. It has a fluttering flight like Little Swift
Little Swift
The Little Swift , is a small bird, superficially similar to a Barn Swallow or House Martin. It is, however, completely unrelated to those passerine species, since swifts are in the order Apodiformes. The resemblances between the groups are due to convergent evolution reflecting similar life styles...
. Little Swift has a square tail, and more extensive white on the rump than Horus, and White-rumped Swift
White-rumped Swift
The White-rumped Swift is a small swift. Although this bird is superficially similar to a House Martin, it is completely unrelated to that passerine species. The resemblances between the swallows and swifts are due to convergent evolution reflecting similar life styles.Swifts have very short legs...
has a more deeply forked tail and a narrower white band. The call is a buzzing peeeeooo, peeeeooo.
The paler subspecies A. h. fuscobrunneus of southwestern Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
has a small grey throat patch and a brown rump. The form toulsoni of northwestern Angola and Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
is a dark morph of nominate A. h. horus, with a dark rump and small throat patch. Both dark forms have sometimes been split as separate species.
Horus
Horus
Horus is one of the oldest and most significant deities in the Ancient Egyptian religion, who was worshipped from at least the late Predynastic period through to Greco-Roman times. Different forms of Horus are recorded in history and these are treated as distinct gods by Egyptologists...
, whose name this bird commemorates, was the ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
ian god of the sun, son of Osiris
Osiris
Osiris is an Egyptian god, usually identified as the god of the afterlife, the underworld and the dead. He is classically depicted as a green-skinned man with a pharaoh's beard, partially mummy-wrapped at the legs, wearing a distinctive crown with two large ostrich feathers at either side, and...
and Isis
Isis
Isis or in original more likely Aset is a goddess in Ancient Egyptian religious beliefs, whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. She was worshipped as the ideal mother and wife as well as the matron of nature and magic...
.