292 BRITISH BIRDS. 



CYPSELUS APUS. 

 COMMON SWIFT. 



(Plate 18.) 



Hirundo apos, Briss. Orn. ii. p. 612 (1760). 



Hirundo apus, lAnn. Syst Nat. i. p. 344 (1766) ; et auctorum plurimonun — 



Latham, Omelin, {Bonaparte), (Nawmann), (Newton), (Dresser), &c. > 

 Apus apus (Linn.), Scop. Intr. ad Hist. Nat. p. 483 (1777). 

 Mici'opus murarius, Wolf, Taschenh. i. p, 281 (1810). 

 Oypselus apus (Linn), IlUg. ProAr. p. 230 (1811). 

 Brachypus murarius ( Wolf), Meyer, Vog. Liv- u. Esthl. p. 143 (1815). 

 Oypselus niger, Leaeh, Syst. Cat. Mamm. <^c. Brit. Mus, p. 19 (1816). 

 Apus cypselus, Forst. Syn. Cat. Br. B. p. 55 (1817). 

 Oypselus vulgaris, Steph. Shaw's Gen. Zool. x. p. 72 (1817). 

 Oypselus murarius (Wolf), Meyer, Taschenh. Zus. u. Ber. p. 255 (1822). 

 Apus murarius (Wolf), Lesson, Traits d' Orn. p. 267 (1831). 

 Micropus apus (Linn.), Boie, Isis, 1844, p. 165. 

 Oypselus murinus, Brehm, Vogelfang, p. 46 (1855). 

 Cypselus aterrimus, Seugl. Journ. Orn. 1861, p. 423. 

 Oypselus acuticauda, Blyth,fide Jerdon, B. Ind. iii. p. 870. 

 Cypselus dubius, Antinori, Cat. JJcc. Afr. Centr. p. 26 (1864). 

 Oypselus barbatus, Temm.Jide Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1865, p. 699. 

 Oypselus pekinensis, Swinhoe, Proc. Zool. Soc, 1870, p. 435. 

 - Oypselus paUidus, Shelley, Ibis, 1870, p. 445. 



The Swift^ although one of the latest birds of passage to arrive and one 

 of the earliest to leave, is found in suitable districts in almost all parts of 

 the British Islands, with the exception of the Outer Hebrides, where it 

 has only once been seen. It is somewhat rare on the inner islands, and is 

 only an accidental visitor to the Orkneys and Shetland. It is rather 

 common in the Channel Islands ; but is said by Thompson to be absent 

 altogether from certain parts of the west of Ireland. 



The Common Swift has a very extensive range, reaching from the 

 Atlantic to the Pacific. In Norway it has been found breeding as far 

 north as lat. 69°, and has been seen up to lat. 70°. It occasionally strays 

 as far as the Faroes, and is also an accidental visitor to Archangel ; but 

 has not been found in the Ural Mountains beyond lat. 60°. It has occurred 

 once at Omsk in lat. 55°, and breeds regularly in Dauria in lat. 50°. It 

 also breeds in Mongolia and North China; but has not been recorded from 

 Japan. It is a summer visitor to the Canaries j but is a resident in 

 Madeira. It breeds throughout South Europe and North Africa, being 

 most abundant in rocky districts. It is a common summer visitor to 



