Pallid Swift Apus pallidus Scientific name definitions

16 cm; 42 g. Large, bulky swift with relatively broad blunt wing-tips  , short, fairly shallowly forked tail, broad head and body. Brown, with white throat-patch. Race <em>brehmorum</em> larger and darker than nominate, with black-brown outer wing and saddle, smallest wing-coverts minimally paler, greater coverts (including greater primary coverts) and inner wing distinctly paler, entire head, lower back and rump greyer brown and forehead pale grey-brown (pronounced saddle effect), and underparts  olive-brown with large , indistinct, triangular pale grey throat-patch contiguous with forehead patch and sometimes strikingly barred in appearance; illyricus slightly larger and darker, with more distinct throat-patch as a result.

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Editor's Note: Additional distribution information for this taxon can be found in the 'Subspecies' article above. In the future we will develop a range-wide distribution article.

Throughout much of range associated with coastal sites, especially islets, but occurs in continental zone in C Sahara. Typically found around cliff-faces and gorges, though in many parts of range also in urban areas  , where commonly breeds. Forages over many habitats, to 1750 m on Cyprus and 1200 m on Canary Is. Breeds to 1250 m in mountainous plateau of S Italy and to 2700 m in SW Bulgaria. Approximately 42% of Bulgarian population breeds at 1200–1600 m around ski resorts in coniferous woodland, with 38% at 200–500 m in rural and suburban areas. In Sierra Nevada, S Spain, a breeding colony was also in a ski resort at an altitude of 2.700 m (2 Molina, B., Prieta, J., Lorenzo, J.A. and López-Jurado, C. (2015). Noticiario ornitológico. Ardeola. 62(2): 509–550. In Spanish. Close ).

Southernmost and some Middle Eastern breeders resident; additional wintering in S Spain and as far N as France recorded, but generally otherwise a medium-distance migrant. Present in France early Apr to mid-Nov, Gibraltar and Morocco late Feb to Oct and Canaries Jan–Sept. Migrates through NW Africa late Feb to early May and Aug–Nov. Spring migration through Eilat, Israel, peaks late Feb to mid-Apr, with autumn migration late May to late Sept, mainly Jun–Jul. Very common passage migrant in Djibouti. Present on Gambian wintering grounds Oct–Dec, as late as Apr in reduced numbers, but in some central N African areas some present all year. Rare visitor to W Liberia late Feb to early Apr. Vagrant S to South Africa. Wintering recorded in India E to Sind.  In Europe, vagrant N to the British Is, the Netherlands, Sweden and Finland, mainly Oct–Nov.

At Gibraltar, 1293 prey items comprised Hymenoptera 56%, Hemiptera 25%, Diptera 12%, Coleoptera 5%, Lepidoptera 1%, and others, including Odonata and spiders, 1%. Small beetles and small flies, including mosquitoes, recorded in Tunisia, and flying ants in Algeria. Gregarious, often associating with other swift species.

Commonest call is a shrill, piercing, wheezy scream “srreeeeerrr”, overslurred with top frequency around 5–6 kHz. Very similar to A. apus, but on average slightly lower-pitched and, frequently, this screaming call has a rising and falling terminus, “srreeeeeEEerr” (somewhat like A. unicolor).

Laying dates: Israel, Mar–May; Morocco and Tunisia, Mar–Jul, with first clutch from Apr and second clutches beginning late Jul, with last fledging mid-Oct; Gibraltar, first clutch from mid-Apr, peaking late May, with second clutches from late Jul and last fledging mid-Oct. Colonial: 48% of colonies on Gibraltar with fewer than 10 pairs, largest 60 pairs; 3–300 m between colonies; lower level of mate and nest-site fidelity than in A. apus. Nests in variety of sites, e.g. caves, cliff-faces, niches, eaves, under tiles, holes in palms, and on Gibraltar forcibly vacated fresh nests of House Martins (Delichon urbica); 70% of nests under eaves, 15% in holes in stonework, 7% under gutters and 7% on cliffs. Round nest of straw and feathers agglutinated and adhered to substrate with saliva, 80–100 × 100–120 mm across and 40–50 mm deep, with central depression 25 mm deep, occupied 4–7 days before laying starts. Copulation in flight after soliciting by gliding with raised wings, often after long pursuit. Typically 2 or 3 eggs (1–4 recorded), on Gibraltar first clutches mean 2·9 eggs, second clutches 1·9; both sexes incubate, period 21·5 days; hatching asynchronous; chicks brooded day and night initially, with up to 4 feeding visits per hour; fledging period 46·5 days. Double-brooded. On Gibraltar, fledging rate 53% for first-clutch eggs and 30% for second-clutch eggs.

Not globally threatened (Least Concern). Abundant in some areas, including much of N Africa and W Mediterranean. Huge count of 8000–12,000 birds made from an area of cliffs in SE Mali. Locally uncommon in many peripheral areas such as Canaries, Turkey and S France. In 1976, French population thought to be 100–1000 pairs; marked increase in population and range since first mainland breeding in 1950. Single colony of 8000 birds at Sevilla, Spain, in 1986. Stable or possibly slightly increasing European population, with greatest abundance in Spain, Portugal, extreme S France, Corsica , Sardinia, Croatia and Greece; slight decline in Gibraltar and Greece, with Albanian range declining. Range has increased in S France, where in the Biscay Gulf breeding colonies have been found at Biarritz in 1998 and at Bordeaux in 2014 (3 Issa, N. and Barbaro, L. (2014). Nidification du Martinet pâle Apus pallidus en Aquitanie et statut de l’espèce en France. Ornithos. 21(5): 260–264. In French with English summary. Close ); also in the Biscay Gulf there is a colony at Santander, N Spain, since 2009 (4 de Juana, E., and E. Garcia (2015). The Birds of the Iberian Peninsula. Bloomsbury, London, UK. Close ). Population estimates (breeding pairs) in 1997: Europe 21,202–32,893 and Turkey 10–1000. Large colonies in Israel, with 2000 pairs at Har Sedom.