Birds · Caprimulgiformes · Apodidae

Alpine Swift

Tachymarptis melba

Least Concern

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

The alpine swift is the largest swift in Europe, brown above and white below with a dark breast band. It breeds in colonies on rock faces and on tall buildings in cities such as Barcelona, Madrid and Granada. It is the bird that holds the documented record for continuous flight: a study using geolocators showed that it can spend more than six months in the air without landing once.

Weight

76 g – 120 g

Size

20 cm – 23 cm

Lifespan

26 years

Diet

Insectivore

Feeds mainly on insects and other invertebrates.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

Colony

Lives in large concentrations, often for breeding reasons.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

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Fun facts

GeneralIt can stay airborne for more than 6 months at a stretch without landing.
It holds the record for continuous flight of any bird: geolocators fitted to Swiss birds showed that they spend more than two hundred days in a row on the wing during the African winter, without landing once.
It eats, drinks, mates and sleeps on the wing: at dusk it climbs to more than two thousand metres and glides half-asleep, resting the two brain hemispheres in turn.
Its urban colonies on historic Spanish buildings are well known, and façade renovations that seal up the holes are now one of its main threats.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
Habitat & environment: Mountain rock faces, sea cliffs and tall buildings of the Mediterranean basin and Asia
Sexual maturity: 2 years
Gestation / incubation: 20 days of incubation
Litter / clutch size: 3 eggs

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