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Pallid Swift

Pallid Swift

Apus pallidus

Identify the Pallid Swift by sound or photo and log your sightings with Birdpass.

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The Pallid Swift is a compact, brown-toned swift of Mediterranean cliffs and towns, very similar to the Common Swift but paler, with a larger white throat and finely scaly underparts. It spends most of its life on the wing, catching insects and drinking in flight. It breeds around the Mediterranean and on the Canary Islands and Madeira and winters in Africa. It arrives earlier and leaves later than the Common Swift and is a rare vagrant further north.

Did you know?

  • It drinks on the wing, taking water without landing.
  • Tracked Pallid Swifts showed strong fidelity to particular wintering areas in Africa.

Voice

Sound

About the species

Identification

Common Swift-sized but slightly bulkier. It is paler, sandier brown overall, and the white throat patch is larger than in Common Swift; the underparts are finely scaled and the underwing shows paler panels against darker flight feathers. Wingbeats are slightly slower; calls are similar. Strong sunlight can make Common Swifts look pale, so careful views are needed.

Family

Apodidae

Size

Small (sparrow)

Colours

brown, grey, white

About the habitat

Warm coastal cliffs, gorges and towns with cavities in rocks and buildings; forages in open airspace above.

Diet

Small flying insects and other tiny airborne arthropods caught on the wing.

Behaviour

Almost constantly airborne, with fast, scything flight and frequent glides, over towns, coasts and hills. It clings to vertical surfaces when it rests and nests in crevices on cliffs and under the eaves of buildings, usually laying two eggs and often raising two broods. Its screams are lower and softer than Common Swift's.

Sources

Photo: Irvin calicut, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pallid Swift by Irvin Calicut IRV07813.jpg

Sound: Xavier Riera, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cri_de_martinet_pâle,_Espagne.wav

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

See also