The Cape Verde swift or Alexander's swift (''Apus alexandri'') is a small

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

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 * SWIF ...

family found only in the

Cape Verde Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...

Islands. It has been recorded from all the islands except Santa Luzia although it probably breeds only on

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

, Fogo, Brava, Santo Antão and São Nicolau. It is generally common with a stable population and is not considered to be

threatened A threatened species is any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which is vulnerable to extinction in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensatio ...

. The name Alexander's swift commemorates

Boyd Alexander Lieutenant Boyd Alexander (16 January 1873 – 2 April 1910) was an English officer in the British Army, as well as an List of explorers, explorer and ornithologist. Early life Boyd was the oldest son (with a twin brother) of Lt Colonel Boyd ...

, an English

ornithologist Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...

who led two expeditions to the islands in 1897.

Description

It is 13 cm long with a wingspan of 34 to 35 cm. The

plumage Plumage () is a layer of feathers that covers a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage differ between species and subspecies and may vary with age classes. Within species, there can b ...

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.

Ecology

The Cape Verde swift feeds on insects that it catches while flying. It can be seen flying over all habitats and hunts in flight for

insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...

s, foraging in flocks over gullies and along cliffs and shorelines. The

nest A nest is a structure built for certain animals to hold Egg (biology), eggs or young. Although nests are most closely associated with birds, members of all classes of vertebrates and some invertebrates construct nests. They may be composed of ...

is built in a crevice in a cliff, in a cave, or on the roof of a building. It is saucer-shaped and made of grass and feathers. The

egg An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the ...

s are white and a clutch size of two has been reported. The bird is thought to be resident rather than migratory.

Status

The Cape Verde swift has a restricted range but is a common bird on the archipelago, with large numbers on Fogo and Brava. There is no evidence that its numbers are declining and no specific threats have been recognized, so the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the stat ...

has assessed its conservation status as being of "

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...

References

External links

Mike Danzenbaker's Cape Verde Swift (''Apus alexandri'') Photo Page
*Clarke, Tony; Orgill, Chris & Dudley, Tony (2006) ''Field Guide to the Birds of the Atlantic Islands'', Christopher Helm, London *Snow, D. W. & Perrins, C. M. (1998) ''Birds of the Western Palearctic: Concise Edition, Vol. 1'', Oxford University Press. {{Taxonbar, from=Q1029778 Apus (genus) Endemic birds of Cape Verde Birds described in 1901