Swifts

Swifts are birds that spend most of their lives in flight. They land only to nest. Three species of swift nest in Italy: the common swift, the pallid swift and the Alpine swift. All three species nest in Carmagnola. In particular, an important colony of more than 120 pairs of pallid swifts nests in the putlog holes of Palazzo Lomellini. The species was discovered here in 1974 and has been followed ever since through numerous studies carried out by the Carmagnola Natural History Museum in collaboration with the Universities of Turin, of Eastern Piedmont and of Lund (Sweden) and the A&T University in College Station (Texas, USA).

A pallid swift (Apus pallidus) takes flight from a putlog hole of Palazzo Lomellini (photo: Batti Gai). Note the netting that partly closes the hole, letting swifts in but not pigeons.

A great deal of information on swifts and their conservation can be found at this link: MONUMENTI VIVI

A pallid swift in flight in Piazza Sant'Agostino (photo: Mike Giordano)

Bibliography (published papers on swifts based on research carried out in Carmagnola)

Pellegrino, I., Cucco, M., Harvey, J. A., Liberatore, F., Pavia, M., Voelker, G., & Boano, G. (2017). So similar and yet so different: taxonomic status of Pallid Swift Apus pallidus and Common Swift Apus apus. Bird Study, 64(3), 344-352.

Hedenström, A., Norevik, G., Boano, G., Andersson, A., Bäckman, J., & Åkesson, S. (2019). Flight activity in pallid swifts Apus pallidus during the non‐breeding period. Journal of Avian Biology, 50(2).

Cucco, M., & Malacarne, G. (1996). Reproduction of the pallid swift (Apus pallidus) in relation to weather and aerial insect abundance. Italian Journal of Zoology, 63(3), 247-253.

Cucco, M., Malacarne, G., Orecchia, G., & Boano, G. (1992). Influence of weather conditions on pallid swift Apus pallidus breeding success. Ecography, 15(2), 184-189.

Boano, G., Pellegrino, I., & Cucco, M. (2015). Moult and morphometrics of the pallid swift Apus pallidus in northwestern Italy. Ardeola, 62(1), 35-48.

Malacarne, G., Cucco, M., & Bertolo, E. (1994). Sibling competition in asynchronously hatched broods of the pallid swift (Apus pallidus). Ethology ecology & evolution, 6(3), 293-300.

CRISTIANO, L., LANTIERI, A., & BOANO, G. (2018). Comparison of Pallid Swift Apus pallidus diet across 20 years reveals the recent appearance of an invasive insect pest. Avocetta, 42(1).

Boano, G., Cucco, M., Malacarne, G., & Orecchia, G. (1993). Survival rate and mate fidelity in the Pallid Swift Apus pallidus. Avocetta, 17, 189-197.

Malacarne, G., & Cucco, M. (1991). Chick mortality and hatching asynchrony in the Pallid Swift Apus pallidus. Avocetta, 15, 19-24.

Cucco, M., & Malacarne, G. (1996). Factors affecting egg mass in the Pallid Swift Apus pallidus. Bird Study, 43(3), 314-319.

Malacarne, G., & Cucco, M. (1990). Shifts in sound features of the duetting pallid swifts Apus pallidus L. Italian Journal of Zoology, 57(1), 51-53.

Boano, G., & Cucco, M. (1989). Breeding biology of the Pallid Swift (Apus pallidus) in North-western Italy. Gerfaut/Giervalk, 79(1-4), 133-148.

Cucco, M., & Malacarne, G. (1987). Distribution and nest-hole selection in the breeding Pallid Swift. Avocetta, 11(1), 57-61.

Malacarne, G., Palomba, I., Griffa, M., Castellano, S., & Cucco, M. (1989). Quantitative analysis of differences in the vocaIizations of the Common Swift Apus apus and the PaIIid Swift Apus pallidus.

Cucco, M., & Malacarne, G. (1996). Effect of food availability on nestling growth and fledging success in manipulated pallid swift broods. Journal of Zoology, 240(1), 141-151.

Boano, G., Casola, D., Cucco, M., Ferri, M., Micheloni, P., Manica, M., & Pellegrino, I. (2021). Onset of primary moult in immature and breeding adult Common Swifts Apus apus. Ringing & Migration, 36(2), 116-122.

Ferri, M. (2018). Le “rondonare”: come attrarre i rondoni negli edifici, dal Medioevo ai nostri giorni. Atti Società dei Naturalisti e dei Matematici di Modena, 149, 181-224.

Ilahiane, L., Colominas-Ciurò, R., Bize, P., Boano, G., Cucco, M., Ferri, M., … & Pellegrino, I. (2023). Molecular investigation on infection by haemosporidians in three Western Palearctic species of swift (Apodidae) and their ectoparasitic louse flies. Parasitology Research, 122(8), 1787-1794.

Malacarne, G., Cucco, M., & Orecchia, G. (1992). Nest attendance, parental roles and breeding success in the Pallid Swift (Apus pallidus). Vogelwarte, 36(3), 203-210.

Boano, G., & Cucco, M. (2022). Age at first reproduction and longest-lived individuals in the Pallid Swift Apus pallidus. Avocetta, 46, 33-39.

Boano, G., Pellegrino, I., Ferri, M., Cucco, M., Minelli, F., & Åkesson, S. (2020). Climate anomalies affect annual survival rates of swifts wintering in sub‐Saharan Africa. Ecology and Evolution, 10(14), 7916-7928.

Norevik, G., Boano, G., Hedenström, A., Lardelli, R., Liechti, F., & Åkesson, S. (2019). Highly mobile insectivorous swifts perform multiple intra‐tropical migrations to exploit an asynchronous African phenology. Oikos, 128(5), 640-648.

BOANO, G. (1979). Il rondone pallido Apus pallidus in Piemonte. Riv. Ital. Orn, 49, 1-23.