PRODUCTIONS: ARISTOCRATS OF THE SKY

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U. Adilardi, M. Bogliani, A. D'Onofrio

SD Cinematografica

13'

HD

The swift, a real son of the open sky, spends its whole life in flight, even managing to make love in the air. it normally hunts at more than 60 kilometers per hour but during its courting and battle acrobatics, it reaches almost 200 kilometers an hour. Great altitudes are another of its specialties and it is most comfortable above 3,500 meters. The only time it stops flying is during the nesting period and while raising its young. A Portico Romagna, in Italy, the tall medieval watch towers situated at strategic points contain many small openings in their walls. Similar apertures are found in the buildings in other towns nearby. These openings were built in many parts of Italy to attract swifts to build nests there, making it easy to remove the young birds before they learned to fly. Times have changed but the swifts still build their nests in these wall openings. They offer an excellent opportunity to study these birds close up.