Bates's swift (''Apus batesi'') is a species of small

swift Swift or SWIFT most commonly refers to: * SWIFT, an international organization facilitating transactions between banks ** SWIFT code * Swift (programming language) * Swift (bird), a family of birds It may also refer to: Organizations * SWIFT ...

in the family

Apodidae The swifts are a family, Apodidae, of highly aerial birds. They are superficially similar to swallows, but are not closely related to any passerine species. Swifts are placed in the order Apodiformes with hummingbirds. The treeswifts are closely ...

which is found in western Africa.

Description

Bates's swift is a small, slender swift with a deeply forked tail which is often held closed to form a point. It has a glossy black plumage with an indistinct pale patch on the throat. It is normally silent but makes a high-pitched trill near the nest. They are 14 cm in length.

Distribution

Bates's swift is found from

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean to its south and southwest. It ...

and Guinea then patchily eastwards to

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in Ghana–Ivory Coast border, the west, Burkina ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of G ...

and

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west- central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; th ...

, south to

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north ...

and the northern Congo. Its presence in

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

is unconfirmed, as are reports from the eastern

democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

Habitat

Bates's swift is a rainforest species and is found in areas close to cliffs and crags.

Habits

Bates's swift forages above the canopy of the rainforest using a fluttering flight, with short periods of gliding occasionally interrupting the rapid wing beats. It may be seen singly, or in small flocks and in mixed flocks with other swifts and hirundines. It nests solitarily in the old nests of hirundines and other swifts, mainly

forest swallow The forest swallow (''Atronanus fuliginosus'') is a little-known species of swallow in the family Hirundinidae, found in Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and Nigeria. The species was previously placed in the genus ''P ...

and possibly mottled spinetail and lesser striped swallow. Breeding has been recorded in September to March in Gabon and egg laying has been noted in Cameroon in May and June.

Taxonomy and naming

Recent molecular studies have placed this species in a clade with white-rumped swift, horus swift,

house swift The house swift (''Apus nipalensis'') is a species of swift in the family Apodidae. It is found in Japan, Nepal, and Southeast Asia. It is capable of flying long distances by alternately shutting off hemispheres of their brain in-flight. In May 2 ...

and little swift. Its common name and Latin binomial commemorate

George Latimer Bates George Latimer Bates (March 21, 1863, Abingdon, Illinois US – January 31, 1940 Chelmsford UK), LL.D., M.B.O.U. was an American naturalist. Bates studied at Knox College, Galesburg and at the Chicago Theological Seminary and in 1895 visited ...

(1863–1940), an American naturalist who traveled in

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Mau ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1273972 Bates's swift Birds of Central Africa Birds of West Africa Bates's swift Taxonomy articles created by Polbot