Unusual Nesting Behavior of a Chimney Swif

Abstract

Two immature chimney swifts (Chaetura pelagica) were trapped and banded from air shaft D4 on 'the roof of Kent Hall at Kent State University on July 27, 1944. (For procedure see Dexter, 1950a). They had roosted there during the preceding evening with three previously-banded swifts, a breeding bird of the season and two other juveniles. The two new birds were marked with nos. 42-196952 and 42-196953. Later, the former proved to be a male which we shall refer to as no. 52, and the latter a female which we shall call no. 53. These two soon separated, but were to play an interesting role of animal behavior at a later date. Three days after banding the male again roosted in D4 with six other swifts, three of them residents of D4 during the nesting season which had just ended, and two of them birds of the year. One was not captured. (This might have been no. 53.) In any case, on September 25 no. 53 was recaptured in a flock of 44 chimney swifts from the near-by roof of Merrill Hall, and she was not with the male at that time. However, the two returned together the following year on May 19, 1945, when they were found roosting in shaft C3 with 86 other birds just back from the wintering grounds in South America. On June 7, nos. 52 anid 53 spent the night in shaft L3 with an unbanded swift. From one to three birds had roosted there from time to time during the preceding two weeks and during the past week nearly all of the birds in thv 13 cther occupied air shafts were engaged in nest building; a few had already started to lay eggs. Nos. 52 and 53 were subsequently trapped at various interWals, and since these were the only two birds not already settled for the nes!ting season, it can he assumed that the twvo birds observed in the unusual behavior described below were the same two, and indeed occasional retrapping did prove that they were.