Chimney sail
| Chimney sail | ||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||
| Chaetura pelagica | ||||||||||
| ( Linnaeus , 1758) |
The chimney swift ( Chaetura pelagica ) is an American sailing bird .
features
The 13 cm long chimney sail has gray-brown plumage that is darker on the top than on the underside. It has long, slender wings and a short and blunt tail.
distribution
The bird breeds in eastern North America from southern Canada to Florida and migrates to the upper Amazon basin in eastern Peru for the winter .
behavior
The chimney swift usually hunts for flying insects over open areas during the day and looks for resting places in the evening, where a large number of sociable birds often gather.
Breeding biology
While the bird used to nest in tree hollows and crevices in the rock, today it often breeds in open chimneys. The half-shell nest, glued together with saliva, is built from small twigs and other plant material, such as straws, and attached to the wall in shady places. The one to five eggs are incubated alternately by the two parent birds for about three weeks. Non-breeding adult birds often help feed the young birds.
literature
- Colin Harrison & Alan Greensmith: Birds. Dorling Kindersly Limited, London 1993,2000, ISBN 3-8310-0785-3
- Bryan Richard: Birds. Parragon, Bath, ISBN 1-4054-5506-3
Web links
- Chaetura pelagica inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Endangered Species . Listed by: BirdLife International, 2012. Retrieved October 10, 2013.
- Feathers of the chimney-sail