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House Swift

Apus nipalensis

Least Concern · IUCN Red List

LCLeast ConcernInvertebratesUrbanCup nestSmall · 30 g
House Swift (Apus nipalensis), photo 1
Photo: Opisska · CC0
House Swift (Apus nipalensis), photo 2
Photo: J.M.Garg/Cactus26 · CC BY 3.0
House Swift (Apus nipalensis), photo 3
Photo: Kalvin Chan · CC BY 4.0
House Swift (Apus nipalensis), photo 4
Photo: Kalvin Chan · CC BY 4.0
House Swift (Apus nipalensis), photo 5
Photo: Zac Peterson · CC BY 4.0
House Swift (Apus nipalensis), photo 6
Photo: Opisska · CC0
House Swift (Apus nipalensis), photo 7
Photo: J.M.Garg/Cactus26 · CC BY 3.0
House Swift (Apus nipalensis), photo 8
Photo: Nishant Sharma Parajuli · CC0

ID tip

The house swift looks quite similar to the little swift. It is a small bird, but a medium-sized swift, with a wingspan of 12.5-14.5 cm. Its body size ranges from 14 to 16 cm and weighs approximately 20-35 g. This species has a dark, slightly forked tail. Other than the white rump band and white throat-patch, the house swift has a black plumage, darker than the little swift. Voice: House swifts make a ti-ti-ti-tititrrrrrr sound, among many others, as part of their vocal catalogues.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the House Swift

One bar for each month, and every month is filled: this bird is recorded here in all twelve. The wide bar is April, the month with the most records.

Where to see the House Swift

Regular rangeRare visitor

The map shades 21 countries with regular records, and 1 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.

Taiwan Thailand Hong Kong SAR China Malaysia China Bangladesh Nepal India Indonesia Singapore Vietnam Japan Cambodia Philippines Macao SAR China Myanmar (Burma) Laos Bhutan Timor-Leste Brunei South Korea

Recorded as a rare visitor in Australia.

About the House Swift

The house swift is a species of swift in the family Apodidae. It is found in Japan, Nepal, and Southeast Asia. It is capable of flying long distances by alternately shutting off hemispheres of its brain in-flight.

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

Easily confused with

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. Pallid Swift (Apus pallidus) Pallid SwiftApus pallidusThis 16–17 cm (6.3–6.7 in) long species is very similar to the common swift, and separation is only possible with good views. Fork-tailed Swift (Apus pacificus) Fork-tailed SwiftApus pacificusAt 17–18 cm (6.7–7.1 in) in length, the Pacific swift is the largest of the Apus swifts.

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

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