Abstract  The first Swifts arrive to Berlin the 28th April and go to their last year's nesting site immediately. In dry weather they breed in remarkable number, in weather with long rainy periods they do not or seldom breed. They feed flying insects and follow them in the air. The Swifts cannot stand on their feet because they are very short. This is why they never can sit on branches of trees. In captivity they cause a great burdon, they do not feed themselves and must be force fed. The birds fly constantly fairly high above the ground so that their body must be able to stand coldness of a large extent. They do not need much water, but they drink flying above the rivers and lakes. They copulate in flight, while the female is gliding, the male comes from behind and tops her with the wings upright. The wing span is 42 cm; a bird of this size can only be seen within a distance of 500-600 meters. T.

 
 
 

PAUL BÖHME:

Der Mauersegler

(Printed 1916 in Die Gefiederte Welt.)

© APUSLife 1998, No. 0475