Birds · Caprimulgiformes · Apodidae

Common Swift

Apus apus

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

The common swift is an apodiform bird of the family Apodidae native to Eurasia and Africa.

Weight

38 g on average

Size

16 cm – 17 cm

Lifespan

21 years

Diet

Carnivore

Feeds mainly on other animals.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

Colony

Lives in large concentrations, often for breeding reasons.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

Estimated population

Between 95 and 165 million mature individuals; the European population totals 19.1-32.5 million pairs

Fun facts

locomociónIt can stay airborne for months on end, even sleeping and mating on the wing.
It can spend up to ten months at a stretch on the wing: it feeds, sleeps and mates in flight, and only comes down to breed. At night it climbs to around 2,000 m and sleeps on the wing, slowing its wingbeat from ten to seven beats per second.

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
Habitat & environment: It breeds in cavities in buildings, under eaves, and on rock faces and sea cliffs; the rest of the time it lives on the wing
Size at birth: Eggs of 3.2 to 4.2 g; the chicks stay between 35 and 59 days in the nest and leave it flying, never to return
Sexual maturity: 2 years
Gestation / incubation: 19-21 days of incubation
Litter / clutch size: 2-3 eggs, with a single clutch a year

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apus_apus