Little Swifts, Angola

By Charlie • June 2, 2005 • No comments yet

Little Swifts Apus affinis
Luanda, Angola 28 May 2005

The following photographs were taken from the roof of the Meridien Hotel, Luanda in the late afternoon as a group of about twenty Little Swifts appeared out of nowhere and began hawking over the centre of the city some distance from me. Many of the photos are highly-cropped and enhanced (hence the “noise” evident in the backgrounds) and unfortunately almost all of them were taken into the sun.

The photos are in no particular groupings as it was impossible at the time to get the photos and keep a record of which swift was which - but I have tried to arrange birds with an obviously similar moult stage together in the assumption that they are likely to be the same individuals.

The race breeding throughout much of Africa (from the Gambia across to Somalia and down to the Cape) is aerobates - though there is a (presumably isolated) form, bannermani breeding on Sao Tome, Principe, and Fernando Po Islands: this is of interest primarily because of the large brown swifts also found in Luanda which are suspected to be Fernando Po Swift Apus (barbatus) sladeniae - a taxon also virtually restricted to Fernando Po.

little swift angola

Interested in all things “swifty”? Why not join the Yahoo Group “”Swallows, Martins & Swifts WorldWide”…go to groups.yahoo.com/group/Swallows-Martins-Swifts-Worldwide for details…

All photographs © Charlie Moores

Tags: africa, swifts

Explore These Related Posts

...Or These Blasts From The Past

About the Author

Charlie

Charlie works for an airline and has birded all over the world for twenty years. He wants to be a writer, and thinks no-one would believe his life could be so charmed if he didn't take photos of as many of the birds he sees as possible. Blogging with 10,000 Birds fits his aims, needs, and insecurities perfectly. Really - do birders get much more fortunate than this?

Share Your Thoughts

Asides

The Birder’s Report becomes a Species Champion

Excellent news from Larry Jordan, the force behind The Birder’s Report: he’s joined BirdLife’s ‘Preventing Extinctions Programme’ as a Species Champion. The PEP focusses on saving the 192 most threatened birds on the planet, and with supporters with the conservation creds of someone like Larry perhaps it will become far better known in North America than currently. Let’s hope so - and who’ll be next to join I wonder?

First Bird of 2010

What was your first bird of 2010? Let us know in the comments…and, if you wrote a blog post or have a picture of your first bird of the year online somewhere, well, leave a link in the comments too.
Happy New Year from all three of us at 10,000 Birds! And here’s hoping you see many great birds, including lots of lifers, in 2010!

‘Mermaids’ battered by boats

“Each year, about 87 manatees are killed by collisions with boats, the single greatest cause of premature mortalities. This is more than seven times number of manatees that the Fish and Wildlife Service estimates can be killed without impairing the species’ recovery. Meanwhile, boating in Florida is at an all-time high and increasing with more boats in the water…”. Another good example of why the International Year of Biodiversity ought to matter.

Residents Crying Foul…

…over Common Peafowl. Seems that Longboat Key, Florida, has way too many of the gorgeous gregarious birds and has to continually cull the flock. And Longboat Key isn’t the only community in the U.S. with a peafowl problem: apparently California and Texas locations have had issues as well. So introducing non-native birds because they are pretty might not be the best idea? Who would’ve thunk it?