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Common Swift

Common Swift

Apus apus

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The Common Swift is a scythe-winged aerial specialist that resembles swallows but is actually closer to hummingbirds. Almost all dark with a small pale throat patch, it spends nearly its entire life on the wing, breeding across Europe and Asia and wintering in Africa south of the equator. It nests in cavities in buildings as well as trees and cliffs, and its colonies are famous for their noisy evening “screaming parties”.

Did you know?

  • Some Common Swifts stay airborne for up to ten months without landing.
  • Its scientific name, Apus – “without feet” – comes from the ancient belief that swifts had no feet.

Voice

Song
Flight call

About the species

Identification

A fast-flying, all-dark bird with long, sickle-shaped wings and a short, forked tail; the throat (and forehead) show a small pale patch. In flight it often gives shrill screams (“srii”). Told from swallows and martins by its uniform dark colour and very narrow, scythe-like wings.

Family

Apodidae

Size

Small (sparrow)

Colours

black, brown, white, grey

About the habitat

Breeds in cavities under eaves and roof tiles, in tree holes and on cliffs; forages widely over towns, farmland, forests, lakes and coasts.

Diet

Almost entirely flying insects and small airborne spiders, caught on the wing; adults bring the chicks compressed food balls. It drinks in flight.

Behaviour

Exceptionally fast and agile, it feeds, drinks, bathes and even sleeps in the air and rarely lands except at the nest, where it clings to vertical surfaces. Pairs often reuse the same nest year after year. In food shortages chicks can enter short torpor. It flies high in fine weather and low in cool or windy conditions.

Sources

Photo: Alexis Lours, CC BY 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Common Swift 2025 07 18 02 (cropped).jpg

Sound: Pascal Christe, XC816518, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://xeno-canto.org/816518

Sound: Luis Alvarez Menendez, XC554033, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://xeno-canto.org/554033

Text: Wikipedia (English) + FinBIF species descriptions, CC BY-SA 4.0; FinBIF: CC BY 4.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_swift

See also