Swooping with Swifts

BirdNote^®

Swooping with Swifts - White-throated Swifts

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[White-throated Swifts chattering in flight]
A torrent of shrill notes ricochets off the sheer, stone walls of a Western canyon. [White-throated Swifts chattering in flight]
 A pair of White-throated Swifts careens by at high speed, revealing boldly patterned bodies. They twist and turn, sailing through the air on black, scimitar-shaped wings that span 15 inches. Dashing headlong across the canyon toward an unyielding wall, the birds disappear at the last second into a slender crevice.
[White-throated Swifts chattering in flight]
This swift is aptly named – and doubly so. Flying at tremendous speed, the White-throated Swift is indeed swift, among the fastest of all birds. And its lyrical, scientific name suits it perfectly: Aeronautes saxatalis – sailor of the air who dwells in the rocks.
[White-throated Swifts chattering in flight]
Swifts leave the air only to nest or roost in a cavity. You will never see one perched. They do everything else while airborne. “When mating, a pair of White-throated Swifts meet … high in the air, cling together as though embracing for a moment through which they drop down hundreds of feet, there to separate and catch themselves on their wings…” * [corrected text]
[White-throated Swifts chattering in flight]
Swoop in to our web site for a good look at a White-throated Swift. For birdnote.org, I’m Frank Corrado
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Written by Bob Sundstrom
White-throated Swift sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Recorded by R.S. Little
Producer: John Kessler
Executive Producer: Chris Peterson
© 2009 Tune In to Nature.org    Revised for July 2009

ID# 072606WTSWKPLU   WTSW-01

P.A. Taverner, 1922, unpublished notes cited p. 225 in: Robert A. Cannings, Richard J. Cannings, and Sydney G. Cannings.  Birds of the Okanagan Valley, British Columbia.  Victoria: Royal British Columbia Museum, 1987.