Swifts (Apodidae)
African Swift (Apus barbatus) - HBW 5, p. 454
French: Martinet du Cap
German: Kapsegler
Spanish: Vencejo de El Cabo
Other common names: Black Swift(!), African Black Swift; Fernando Po Swift (sladeniae); Madagascar Swift (balstoni)
Taxonomy: Cypselus barbatus P. L. Sclater, 1865, Cape of Good Hope.
Forms superspecies with A. pallidus, A. berliozi and A. bradfieldi. Has been considered conspecific with A. apus and also with A. unicolor and A. niansae. Races sladeniae and balstoni (possibly with mayottensis) sometimes treated as two further distinct species. It has been suggested that if race hollidayi can remain a distinct breeding population despite presence of migratory nominate race during local breeding season, then it may prove to be a separate species. Current knowledge about taxonomic status of glanvillei.. View all taxonomy...
Forms superspecies with A. pallidus, A. berliozi and A. bradfieldi. Has been considered conspecific with A. apus and also with A. unicolor and A. niansae. Races sladeniae and balstoni (possibly with mayottensis) sometimes treated as two further distinct species. It has been suggested that if race hollidayi can remain a distinct breeding population despite presence of migratory nominate race during local breeding season, then it may prove to be a separate species. Current knowledge about taxonomic status of glanvillei, sladeniae and serlei to some extent compromised by scarcity of specimens; racial identity of population resident in N Liberia unknown, but may prove to be sladeniae; in contrast, sladeniae might even be applicable only to birds of Bioko. Nine subspecies recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution:
- glanvillei Benson, 1967 - Sierra Leone.
- sladeniae (Ogilvie-Grant, 1904) - SE Nigeria, W Cameroon (Mt Kupe), Bioko and W Angola; possibly this race in N Liberia.
- serlei de Roo, 1970 - W Cameroon (Bamenda).
- glanvillei Benson, 1967 - Sierra Leone.
- sladeniae (Ogilvie-Grant, 1904) - SE Nigeria, W Cameroon (Mt Kupe), Bioko and W Angola; possibly this race in N Liberia.
- serlei de Roo, 1970 - W Cameroon (Bamenda).
- roehli Reichenow, 1906 - E Ethiopia, NE Uganda and Kenya to Malawi and E Zaire; also Sombo in NE Angola.
- hollidayi Benson & Irwin, 1960 - Victoria Falls, on Zambia/Zimbabwe border.
- oreobates Brooke, 1970 - Melsettwe to Mashonaland (Zimbabwe) and Mt Gorongoza (Mozambique).
- barbatus (P. L. Sclater, 1865) - South Africa, and may occur W into mountainous areas of Namibia; wintering grounds unknown.
- mayottensis (Nicoll, 1906) - Comoro Is.
- balstoni (Bartlett, 1880) - Madagascar.
- Least Concern
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