White-rumped Swift ( Apus caffer, family: apodidae)

white rumped swift Kruger National Park birds The White-rumped Swift (Latin name Apus caffer) is described in Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique Roberts number of 415 and you will find a full description of this bird on page 243 also a picture of the White-rumped Swift on page 257. The White-rumped Swift belongs to the family of birds classified as apodidae. According to the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology the White-rumped Swift is also known by these other names: African White-rumped Swift, .

The map of the Kruger you see on this page shows the areas (coloured orange) where this bird has been identified. The basic information was provided by the Avian Demographic Unit based at UCT and I created the maps from that information ... the green dots show the locations of the various Kruger National Park Rest Camps

The White-rumped Swift is neither Endemic or near Endemic to the Kruger National Park.

In terms of distribution of the White-rumped Swift in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. White-rumped Swift : see above distribution map.

The White-rumped Swift.

Identification assistance for this avian species ...

One of the first indicators to take note of when trying to identify a bird is it relative size. For example how big is the bird compared to a well known familiar bird. The White-rumped Swift is a small bird about the size of a house sparrow. Do not take this relative indicator as anything other than a rough easy to remember indicator. It is not a accurate visualization. The height of the White-rumped Swift is about 14 cms and its weight is about 24 gms

The male and female White-rumped Swift have the same plumage and colours

  • Head is black.
  • Eye is brown.
  • Bill is black.
  • Throat is white.
  • Back is black.
  • Legs are brown.

This bird has normally proportioned leg length.

Main diet items for this bird ...

The White-rumped Swift feeds on wing mainly

Invertebrates

Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...

The White-rumped Swift is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Apus caffer will seek out a new mate

The nesting habit of White-rumped Swift is to create the nest in branches of a tree or shrub. The bird lays eggs which are white in colour and number between 1 to 5

Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...

The preferred habitats for White-rumped Swift are: grasslands

You will normally see the White-rumped Swift in flocks.

Names of this avian species in other languages ...

Xhosa ... Ihlabankomo/Ihlankomo

Zulu ... uNonqane

Afrikaans ...Witkruiswindswael

German ... Weibrzelsegler

Portuguese ... Andorinho-cafre

French ... Martinet cafre

Dutch ... Kaffergierzwaluw

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For in-depth birding information please refer to these authoritative avian references ...

Robert's 7th edition number ... 415

The main reference source for this data was "Roberts - Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition" . Other references were "Newmans Birds of the Kruger Park" by Keith Newman published circa 1980 . Names in foreign languages were obtained from the Percy Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town website , www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za