Black Swift (Cypseloides niger)

A surveillance camera reveals season-long nesting activities and behaviors at a nest of the Northern Black Swift (Cypseloides niger borealis)

“…2). Prior to laying and after brooding, adults showed diurnal and crepuscular habits, leaving the nest to presumably forage before dawn and returning after dusk (Sparks 2018, Gunn et al 2021R. A. Sparks, Lois Webster Fund Presentation, Denver Field Ornithologists, https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=inzuiv0BlJ4).…”

“…The encounters were unlike any other behaviors observed, the male being very aggressive and the female attempting to avoid the exchange. Timing and manner of copulation in the Black Swift has not been studied (Gunn et al 2021). Foerster (1987) interpreted an aerial exchange as copulation in one instance and Campbell et al (1990) cites a pair seen copulating in the air in British Columbia.…”

“…No information on preening in this species has been reported (Gunn et al 2021). Data collated on 62 different bird species across seven orders showed that on average, birds spend 9.2% of the day in maintenance activities including preening, scratching, dusting, sunning, anting, bill wiping, water bathing, smoke bathing, and comfort movements such as stretching (Cotgreave and Clayton 1994).…”

“…Observations of nesting Northern Black Swifts (Cypseloides niger borealis, hereafter Black Swift) are typically sporadic and incomplete due to inaccessibility of colonies, small colony size, the cryptic nature of nest placement, and adults' long absences from the nest. Continuous study is logistically difficult, resulting in deficiencies in the most basic information about this species' life history, including breeding (Gunn et al 2021). This study employed a surveillance camera to document season-long nesting activities and behaviors at an active Black Swift nest to discover and more fully understand nesting events in this species.…”