Swift and Swallow key

1

  • White patch on rump      > go to 2
  • Rump black or brown     > skip to 6

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2

  • Tail square      > go to 3
  • Tail forked      > skip to 5

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3

  • Belly white; flies like a bat; tail very short; often around baobabs in tropical areas
         > BÖHM’S SPINETAIL
  • Belly black > go to 4

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4

  • Common (even in cities); often in flocks; nests on bridges or buildings; whitish throat; noisy trilling screams
         > LITTLE SWIFT
  • Rare; usually around baobabs in tropical areas; mottled throat; white belly-band
         > MOTTLED SPINETAIL

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5

  • Slender shape; long, pointed, forked tail; narrow white rump; often a bit of white on the rear edge of its wing; often in pairs; may be seen around houses or bridges; takes over swallow nests
         > WHITE-RUMPED SWIFT
  • Big, strong shape; shallowly forked tail; broad white block on rump; often in little groups; nests in tunnels in vertical sand banks
         > HORUS SWIFT

6

  • Belly blackish or brown, with or without “scales”
         > go to 7
  • Belly white; a very big swift that flies super-fast
         > ALPINE SWIFT

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7

  • Size smallish to medium
         > go to 8
  • Size very large; distinctive pale-edged “scales” on its belly; usually near big rock domes in Zimbabwe
         > MOTTLED SWIFT

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8

  • Typical swift shape; forked tail
         > go to 9
  • Skinny and pointy shape; deeply forked tail with long tips
         > go to 11

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9

  • Looks black overall; widespread
         > go to 10
  • Looks more brownish; belly “scaly”; lives in dry western habitats
         > BRADFIELD’S SWIFT

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10

  • Normally quiet; only ever seen in the sky (not around cliffs etc.); often in spread-out flocks associated with storms or fronts; does not breed here; wing evenly coloured when seen from above
         > COMMON SWIFT
  • Often noisy; may be seen in the sky or around cliffs and quarries where it breeds; innerwing paler when seen from above
         > AFRICAN BLACK SWIFT

11

  • Very fine and delicate like a flying boomerang; forages far but nests in palms; common and widespread, even in towns and gardens; brown underwings; throat not much paler
         > AFRICAN PALM SWIFT
  • Very rare: found above mountain forests in eastern Zimbabwe only; blackish underwings; throat paler
         > SCARCE SWIFT