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Common Swift

Apus apus

Least Concern · IUCN Red List

LCLeast ConcernInvertebratesUrbanCavity nestSmall · 38 g
Common Swift (Apus apus), photo 1
Photo: Alexis Lours · CC BY 4.0
Common Swift (Apus apus), photo 2
Photo: Alexis Lours · CC BY 4.0
Common Swift (Apus apus), photo 3
Photo: Hobbyfotowiki · CC0
Common Swift (Apus apus), photo 4
Photo: Thomas Barrès · CC BY 4.0
Common Swift (Apus apus), photo 5
Photo: Thomas Barrès · CC BY 4.0
Common Swift (Apus apus), photo 6
Photo: Alexis Lours · CC BY 4.0
Common Swift (Apus apus), photo 7
Photo: Alexis Lours · CC BY 4.0
Common Swift (Apus apus), photo 8
Photo: Hobbyfotowiki · CC0
Common Swift (Apus apus), photo 9
Photo: mourad-harzallah · CC BY 4.0
Common Swift (Apus apus), photo 10
Photo: Marrabbio2 · CC BY 4.0

What the Common Swift sounds like

Sonogram of the Common Swift: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Philippe_Grange · Flight call · Rives-de-l'Yon - Rue de Gaulle (near Rives de l'Yon), Vendée, Pays de la Loire, France · CC0 · via xeno-canto
Sonogram of the Common Swift: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Philippe_Grange · Flight call · Rives-de-l'Yon - Rue de Gaulle (near Rives de l'Yon), Vendée, Pays de la Loire, France · CC0 · via xeno-canto
Sonogram of the Common Swift: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Philippe_Grange · Arrondissement du Puy-en-Velay (near Le Puy-en-Velay), Haute-Loire, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France · CC0 · via xeno-canto

ID tip

Common swifts are 16–17 cm (6.3–6.7 in) long with a wingspan of 38–40 cm (15–16 in) and entirely blackish-brown except for a small white or pale grey patch on their chins which is not visible from a distance. They have a short forked tail and very long swept-back wings that resemble a crescent or a boomerang. Their call is a loud scream in two different tone pitches, the higher of which issues from the female. They often form "screaming parties" during summer evenings, when 10–20 swifts will gather in flight around their nesting area, calling out and being answered by nesting swifts.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Common Swift

One bar for each month. Filled bars are the 5 months with records; pale bars are months with none. The wide bar is May, the month with the most records.

Where to see the Common Swift

Regular rangeRare visitor

The map shades 135 countries with regular records, and 5 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

Sweden United Kingdom France Spain Germany Norway Finland Portugal Belgium Israel Italy Czechia Türkiye Poland Netherlands Greece Switzerland Russia Ireland Austria South Africa Bulgaria Ukraine China Denmark Iran Cyprus Serbia Croatia Morocco Georgia Estonia Hungary Palestinian Territories Namibia Lithuania Slovakia Ghana Mongolia Belarus Armenia Romania Latvia Luxembourg Isle of Man Kazakhstan India Slovenia Kenya Azerbaijan Tanzania Botswana Uganda Jordan Uzbekistan Zambia Kyrgyzstan Malta Zimbabwe Tajikistan Tunisia Saudi Arabia Jersey Montenegro Egypt Moldova Iraq North Macedonia Albania Nigeria Lebanon Kuwait Andorra United Arab Emirates Senegal Algeria Congo - Kinshasa Malawi Côte d’Ivoire Vatican City Gambia Mozambique Congo - Brazzaville Gibraltar Ethiopia Liberia Cameroon Bosnia & Herzegovina Monaco Oman Pakistan Benin Rwanda Sierra Leone Angola Gabon Afghanistan Kosovo Liechtenstein Guernsey Turkmenistan Syria Lesotho San Marino Iceland Eswatini Guinea Central African Republic Qatar Mauritania Cape Verde Nepal Sudan Djibouti Thailand Libya Burkina Faso Equatorial Guinea Togo Bahrain Faroe Islands Seychelles Sri Lanka Mali Chad Yemen Guinea-Bissau Niger Eritrea Burundi St. Pierre & Miquelon Maldives Hong Kong SAR China Singapore Barbados

Recorded as a rare visitor in United States, Canada, South Sudan, Bermuda, Brazil.

About the Common Swift

The common swift is a medium-sized bird, superficially similar to the barn swallow or house martin but somewhat larger, though not stemming from those passerine species, being in the order Apodiformes. The resemblances between the groups are due to convergent evolution, reflecting similar contextual development. The swifts' nearest relatives are the New World hummingbirds and the Southeast Asian treeswifts.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

Little Swift (Apus affinis) Little SwiftApus affinisLittle swifts are readily identified by their small size. House Swift (Apus nipalensis) House SwiftApus nipalensisThe house swift looks quite similar to the little swift. White-rumped Swift (Apus caffer) White-rumped SwiftApus cafferThis 14–15.5 cm (5.5–6.1 in) long species has, like some relatives, a short forked tail and long swept-back wings that resemble a crescent or a boomerang.

Side by side: Common Swift vs Little Swift · Common Swift vs House Swift · Common Swift vs White-rumped Swift

Watch the Common Swift on live cams

RSPB Swift Nest CameraUnited Kingdom · RSPB

Browse all 118 bird cams worldwide, live and seasonal, by region and species.

Learn the Common Swift in the BeakBrain App

Photo and call practice. Coming soon to iPhone and Android.

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