Apus apus
The Common Swift (Apus apus) is a master of the aerial world, measuring approximately 16-17 cm (6.3-6.7 in) in length with an impressive wingspan of 42-48 cm (16.5-18.9 in) and weighing around 35-50 grams (1.2-1.8 oz). Its plumage is uniformly sooty-brown, appearing almost black against the sky, save for a small, indistinct pale grey patch on its throat. Distinguished by its long, slender, scythe-shaped wings and a relatively short, shallowly forked tail, it exhibits a characteristic rapid, p...
Primarily an aerial species, the Common Swift favors open airspace over a variety of landscapes including urban areas, villages, agricultural land, and natural cliffs, from sea level up to mountainous regions. It requires vertical surfaces for nesting, often utilizing buildings, bridges, or rocky...
The Common Swift is a specialized aerial insectivore, consuming a wide variety of flying arthropods, including insects like flies, beetles, aphids, and spiders, which it catches on the wing.
Common Swifts are almost exclusively aerial, spending the vast majority of their lives in flight, including foraging, sleeping, and even mating. They are diurnal, active from dawn to dusk, often forming "screaming parties" of fast-flying birds circling breeding sites, especially in the evening. F...
The Common Swift breeds across a vast area spanning most of Europe, extending eastward through western and central Asia to parts of Siberia and Mongolia, and southward into parts of North Africa and the Middle East. Its breeding distribution covers diverse latitudes, from the Arctic Circle in Sca...
Least Concern
- Common Swifts can spend up to ten consecutive months in the air without landing, a record among birds. - They are capable of sleeping while flying, entering brief periods of unihemispheric slow-wave sleep at high altitudes. - Despite their name, they are not closely related to swallows, though ...