Apus berliozi
The Forbes-Watson's Swift (Apus berliozi) is a fascinating medium-sized aerial insectivore, measuring approximately 16-17 cm in length. Its plumage is predominantly sooty brown-black, punctuated by a distinctive and often broad white throat patch that is a key field mark for identification. Its wings are long, slender, and scythe-like, perfectly adapted for a life spent almost entirely in the air, while its tail is moderately forked, less deeply than some of its close relatives. Taxonomically...
Found primarily in arid and semi-arid rocky country, including cliffs, wadis, and coastal areas, often ranging from sea level up to 3000 meters in elevation.
Exclusively aerial insectivores, consuming a wide variety of flying insects including flies, beetles, moths, aphids, wasps, ants, and termites, all captured mid-flight.
Forbes-Watson's Swifts lead an almost entirely aerial existence, spending most of their daylight hours foraging and only landing to breed or roost, often communally in cliffs, caves, or sometimes human structures. They are highly efficient aerial insectivores, capturing all their food on the wing...
The Forbes-Watson's Swift has a disjunct distribution across northeastern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. The nominate subspecies, *Apus berliozi berliozi*, breeds across Ethiopia, Somalia, Djibouti, Eritrea, and extends across the Red Sea to the Arabian Peninsula, including Yemen, Oman, and pa...
Least Concern
- Named 'berliozi' after French ornithologist Jacques Berlioz, while its common name, Forbes-Watson's Swift, often causes confusion by referencing George E. Watson. - Spends almost its entire life on the wing, only landing to breed or roost. - Known to enter a state of torpor during periods of fo...