Horus Swift in Senegal

Paul Sterry is a prolific wildlife author and a passionate conservationist. He founded the international competition Bird Photographer of the Year and is a founder and trustee of the conservation grant-awarding charity Birds on the Brink (BOTB). And he is a great photographer!

Horus Swift © Paul Sterry

Paul recently sent me this beautiful photograph of a Horus Swift taken on a recent trip to Senegal. It was taken at Gamadji Saré, above the sand banks of a tributary of the River Senegal which runs along the boundary of Senegal and Mauretania, and lies about 15km to the north. This makes the site the most northerly and westerly site for Horus Swift which is thinly scattered over sub-Saharan Africa. It presumably occurs in many of the adjoining countries but has been overlooked. It is similar to Little Swift, with which it flies at this site, but is a little larger with a shallow forked tail, whereas Little Swift has a straight ended tail. Paul says that when he was there he saw more Horus than Little Swifts.

Horus Swift was discovered (recognised) at this site in early 2018 and you can read more about the finding here