Schröder J (2024) Temperature in nestboxes for Common Swifts Apus apus behind a tiled roof. LIMOSA 97 (1): 26-33.

Tiled roofs can become extremely hot during summer. It is therefore discouraged to offer breeding sites for Common Swifts in the form of hooded pantiles. However, in my Common Swift colony on the attic under a tiled roof I have recorded seventeen successful breeding attempts in eight consecutive years. This justified a closer look at the temperatures in my Common Swift colony. Between 1 May 2023 and 31 August 2023 temperatures were monitored directly under the pantiles and in a nestbox positioned behind a hooded pantile. Outside temperatures above 30 oC occurred on three days. Under the pantiles, however, the temperature raised to 40 oC and more during at least 30 days (without a relevant difference between red and black-painted pantiles). In the nestbox itself temperatures never exceeded 40 oC. The number of fledged young amounted to 2.0 per nest in accordance with the average result in preceding years. I conclude that hooded pantiles in combination with attic-based nest boxes can actually provide safe breeding places for Common Swifts, at least for roofs with a northern to eastern orientation.

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