A total of 6 000-7 000 House Swifts Apus nipalensis nipalensis were censused breeding in the provinces of Lam Dong, Binh Thuan, Khanh Hoa as well as in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam in 1994 and 1995. By their dimensions and mass they agree well with topotypical specimens from Nepal. Most nests are established in old houses of French architecture, and some in cliffs in the wild. The breeding season lasts 164-168 days, and two broods are usually produced. Gonads and salivary glands follow a yearly cycle according to the bird’s breeding cycle. The average size of the first clutch was about 2.4 eggs in 1994 and 1995, and that of the second clutch about half of this value in 1995. In 1994, the breeding success for the first clutch was 1.55 young per nest, and only 1.03 in 1995. That year, it was just 0.62 young for the second clutch. Vietnamese House Swifts moult almost all the year round, except in January. Its food consists in flying insects, above all Hymenoptera, Isoptera, Coleoptera, Hemiptera and Diptera. The food delivered to chicks differs somewhat from that of adults. The food spectrum of the House Swift in Vietnam is similar to that of the White-nest Swiftlet Aerodramus fuciphagus germani, but is narrower in terms of diversity, and larger in terms of prey mass. As both species lived alongside since time immemorial, they manage to limit competition between them, but things may change in the future if flying insects become less abundant, for instance following a widespread use of pesticides.
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