Common swift

Apus apus · The common swift is a medium-sized, crescent-winged bird that breeds across Europe and Asia and migrates to Africa for the winter.

Also called Swift, common swift, European Swift, Common swift bird.

Common swift
Photo: Bengt Nyman from Vaxholm, Sweden, CC0
Common swift
Photo: Alexis Lours, CC BY 4.0
Common swift
Photo: Dav Sargsyan, CC BY-SA 4.0

Taxonomy

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumChordata
ClassAves
OrderApodiformes
FamilyApodidae
GenusApus
SpeciesApus apus

Where it lives

Breeds across Europe and Asia; winters in Africa south of the Sahara.

Fun facts

  • Some common swifts go 10 months without ever landing, and no other bird spends as much of its life in flight.
  • Swifts drink, feed, and often mate and sleep while flying.
  • Their maximum horizontal flying speed is 111.6 km/h (69.3 mph).
  • Young swifts can survive a few days without food by dropping their body temperature and metabolic rate, entering a torpid state.

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Facts and taxonomy adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).