White-rumped Swift vs African Palm Swift

Apus caffer مقارنةً بـ Cypsiurus parvus

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Side-by-Side Comparison

السمة White-rumped Swift African Palm Swift
الاسم العلمي Apus caffer Cypsiurus parvus
الرتبة Caprimulgiformes Caprimulgiformes
الفصيلة Apodidae Apodidae
حالة الحفاظ Least Concern Least Concern
الطول
طول الجناح 29,0 cm (11.4 in) 27,2 cm (10.7 in)
الوزن 23,0 g (0.81 oz) 14,38 g (0.51 oz)
النظام الغذائي Aerial insectivore taking small flying insects and spiders; may forage at great heights following thermal … Exclusively aerial diet; consumes tiny flying insects and spiders, sometimes following insect swarms for km.
عدد البيض في الوضع 1-3 1-3
Population Trend
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Habitat Comparison

الموائل المشتركة

White-rumped Swift only

بلا

African Palm Swift only

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Song & Call Comparison

White-rumped Swift

الغناء

Deep, guttural churring with resonant buzzing quality; prolonged low-frequency trill vibrating persistently through dense foliage.

African Palm Swift

الغناء

Deep, hollow churring trill with resonant bass quality; prolonged vibrating call audible at significant range in open woodland.

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Geographic Range & Migration

White-rumped Swift

Breeds in southern Europe and North Africa east to Central Asia. Migratory; winters in sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal south to South Africa.

African Palm Swift

Found across sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal east to Somalia and south to South Africa. Common in open areas near palms; nests in palm leaves.

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حالة الحفاظ

Least Concern

White-rumped Swift

Least Concern

African Palm Swift

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How to Tell Them Apart

White-rumped Swift

الريش

Dark sooty-brown; narrow elongated white rump patch; white throat; underparts dark; forked tail; African species; narrower and more elongated white rump than Little Swift; deeply forked tail unlike the square …

African Palm Swift

الريش

Slender and long-tailed; uniformly pale greyish-brown overall; underparts paler grey-buff; long deeply forked tail; pale uniform appearance with no contrasting markings; widespread African palm-nesting swift with distinctive slender silhouette.

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About These Birds

White-rumped Swift

A small swift (14 cm) found across sub-Saharan Africa and the Iberian Peninsula. Dark plumage with a white rump and throat patch. Aerial insectivore. Famously uses the mud nests of other swallows and martins, adding its own feather and saliva lining. A brood parasite of nest architecture.

African Palm Swift

A slender swift (15-17 cm) with long, narrow wings and a deeply forked tail. Dark brown plumage. Found across sub-Saharan Africa in savanna and open woodland, closely associated with palm trees. Aerial insectivore. One of Africa's most abundant swift species.

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