Apus apus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Source: Wikipedia
Synonyms 2
- 3,083,919 GBIF occurrences
- 37,568 iNaturalist observations
In Europe, the total population size is estimated at 32,200,000-56,700,000 mature individuals (BirdLife International 2021). Europe comprises c.40% of the species' global range, so a very preliminary estimate of the global population size is 80,000,000-142,000,000 mature individuals, although further validation of this estimate is needed.
The species inhabits a wide range of habitats from arid steppe, desert, temperate, Mediterranean and boreal zones. It breeds between March and June. It nests mainly in buildings, but in remote parts of the range it also uses tree hollows and rock crevices. The nest cup is constructed of small pieces of vegetable matter and feathers, agglutinated with saliva. It feeds on insects and spiders. It is a long-distance migrant wintering in Africa mainly from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania south to Zimbabwe and Mozambique (Chantler and Boesman 2013).
The species is negatively impacted by building renovation, re-roofing or demolition which leads to a loss of nest sites (Mayer 2008).
Conservation Actions UnderwayThe species is listed as 'amber' on both the U.K. and Irish national Red Lists (Lynas et al. 2007, Eaton et al. 2009). No other conservation actions are known for the species in Europe.Conservation Actions ProposedThe species should be considered when repairing or replacing roofs, ensuring that holes and eaves that it uses for nesting are maintained and work does not take place during the breeding season (Mayer 2008). Nest boxes or nest bricks should be incorporated into new buildings or added to existing ones (RSPB 2012).
This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (extent of occurrence under 20,000 km² combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). The population size is extremely large, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (under 10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be over 10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). Despite the fact that the population trend appears to be decreasing, the decline is not believed to be sufficiently rapid to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (over 30% decline over ten years or three generations). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.
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