The white-naped swift (''Streptoprocne semicollaris'') is the largest representative of the

swift Swift or SWIFT most commonly refers to: * SWIFT, an international organization facilitating transactions between banks ** SWIFT code * Swift (programming language) * Swift (bird), a family of birds It may also refer to: Organizations * SWIFT, ...

family in the

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...

and one of the two largest species in the world. Only the

purple needletail The purple needletail (''Hirundapus celebensis''), or ''hagibas'' in Tagalog, is the largest swift found in the Old World. It is native to the Philippine archipelago and the Minahasa Peninsula (Sulawesi). This bird lives in various forests an ...

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

may be slightly larger.''CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses, 2nd Edition'' by John B. Dunning Jr. (Editor). CRC Press (2008), . This bird is found principally in western and central

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, with one record on the

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

n border. This species is essentially a bird of wild highland landscapes, where it favors cliff faces, deep river gorges and high crags. Its main habitats are

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

forests, tropical

deciduous forest In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

s and second-growth scrub. This swift is usually found at an elevation of and, much more rarely, down to sea level. The white-naped swift is huge for a swift, measuring long, being some 20% larger than its more common and much more widespread cousin, the

white-collared swift The white-collared swift (''Streptoprocne zonaris'') is a species of bird in subfamily Cypseloidinae of the swift family Apodidae. It is found in Mexico, the Greater and Lesser Antilles, Trinidad, and every mainland South America country excep ...

. Weight in the species can vary from with a reported average weight of . The adults are brown-black, glossed blue on the back, and have a white crescent on the nape. The tail is fairly squared off, but can be held in a minorly notched way when flying. The more widespread

is similar, sometimes measuring nearly as large. The white-collar, however, has a complete white collar (whereas the White-nape has no white on the underside) and has a strongly notched tail. This is a gregarious species, with breeding colonies sometimes including up to 200 individuals. It has been observed roosting alongside several other species of swift as well. Breeding colonies often forage together to several miles away from the breeding site. It has a powerful, fast and direct flight, and will ascent thermals to great heights. White-naped swifts feeds in flight on a variety of flying

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

s, including

beetle Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...

bee Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyly, monophyletic lineage within the ...

s and flying

ant Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of 22 ...

s. The nest is typically a shallow depression (made by the parents) in dry sand, usually lacking any materials or saliva, although they are apparently picky about the consistency of the soil used. The nests have usually been found in caves, with the nest located on ledges off the main chamber. Two white eggs are laid. The details of brooding behavior are not known. This swift is normally silent when seen solitary and noisy when encountered in a group. The call is described as ''cree-cree-cree''. The call is delivered both while in flight and while perched on the walls of the nesting cave.

References

* Chantler and Driessens, ''Swifts'' {{Taxonbar, from=Q1268366 white-naped swift Endemic birds of Mexico Birds of the Sierra Madre Occidental Birds of the Sierra Madre del Sur white-naped swift