Apus caffer
The White-rumped Swift (Apus caffer) is a small to medium-sized aerial master, measuring approximately 14-16 cm in length with a wingspan of 33-37 cm and weighing 25-40g. Its plumage is predominantly sooty black, strikingly contrasted by a conspicuous white rump band and a small white throat patch, which are key field marks for identification. The tail is deeply forked, though often held closed during flight, giving it a more pointed appearance. Taxonomically, it belongs to the family Apodida...
This swift primarily inhabits open country, savannas, grasslands, and arid scrublands, often found near human settlements, cliffs, or suitable nesting structures. It typically occurs at low to mid-elevations.
Their diet consists exclusively of aerial insects, including flies, beetles, ants, moths, and termites, caught on the wing using their wide gape.
White-rumped Swifts are highly aerial and diurnal, spending the vast majority of their day in continuous flight, only landing to nest. They are obligate aerial insectivores, foraging in swift, agile pursuit of airborne insects, often in loose flocks. Roosting occurs communally within their nests ...
The White-rumped Swift has a widespread but disjunct distribution, primarily across Sub-Saharan Africa and, more recently, extending into the Iberian Peninsula and parts of North Africa. In Africa, it is broadly distributed from Mauritania and Senegal east to Ethiopia, and south to South Africa, ...
Least Concern
- The White-rumped Swift is famous for its unique nesting strategy of taking over and modifying the old mud nests of other birds, primarily swallows and martins. - Its scientific name, 'Apus,' means 'no feet' in Greek, referring to their small, weak feet unsuited for perching, hence their predomi...