page_title: Hawking (birds)
section_title: Sustained-flight feeding
hierarchical_section_title: Hawking (birds) / Sustained-flight feeding
caption_attribution_description: English: Common Swift (Apus apus) in flight. Deutsch: Mauersegler (Apus apus) im Flug.
context_page_description: Hawking is a feeding strategy in birds involving catching flying insects in the air. The term usually refers to a technique of sallying out from a perch to snatch an insect and then returning to the same or a different perch. This technique is called "flycatching" and some birds known for it are several families of "flycatchers": Old World flycatchers, monarch flycatchers, and tyrant flycatchers. Other birds, such as swifts, swallows, and nightjars, also take insects on the wing in continuous aerial feeding. The term "hawking" comes from the similarity of this behavior to the way hawks take prey in flight, although, whereas raptors may catch prey with their feet, hawking is the behavior of catching insects in the bill. Many birds have a combined strategy of both hawking insects and gleaning them from foliage.
context_section_description: Continuous aerial feeding is a different way of hawking insects. It requires long wings and skillful flying, as in nightjars, swallows, and swifts. Swifts are the masters of aerial feeding; they can fly for hours without perching. Swallows, though similar to swifts in shape, are unrelated to swifts. Swallows feed in a similar manner to swifts, but less continuously, as they don't glide as much and they stop to perch for a while between bouts of aerial feeding. This has to do with their prey: swifts fly higher in pursuit of smaller, lighter insects that are scattered by rising air currents, while swallows generally chase after medium-sized insects that are lower to the ground, such as flies. When swallows fly higher to go after smaller insects, they adjust their fight style to glide more, like a swift. Birds of the nightjar family employ a variety of moves for catching insects. The common nighthawk of North America flies in swift-like fashion on its long, slender, pointed wings. The common poorwill, on the other hand, flies low and perches low to the ground and will sally up into the air after insects.
caption: Common swift in flight
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