Swifts (Apodidae)

11 species in Singapore.

Swifts spend almost their entire life in the air, usually only coming down to nest and raise their young. They have long, swept-back wings that fold into a crescent or boomerang shape, a short forked or square tail, and tiny, weak feet good for little more than clinging to a vertical surface. They look a lot like swallows, but swifts are not related to them; both groups have simply evolved similar shapes for acrobatically catching insects in flight. Many are strong migrants covering huge distances yearly. Aerodramus swiftlets, found across Southeast Asia, use echolocation to navigate dark caves where they roost.

Swifts and swiftlets can fly extremely high up and fly fast. Several species also look very similar to each other. Swiftlets also have an erratic flight, making it difficult to observe them well. The Hirundapus needletails are bulky, cigar-bodied, and squarish-tailed, and told apart by throat colour and tail shape. Among the Apus swifts, the migratory Fork-tailed Swift has a deeply forked tail and scaled underparts, while House Swift's tail fork is shallower and underparts plain black; both share a white rump-band. Black-nest and Edible-nest Swiftlets, are inseparable in flight and can only be told apart on their nests. Plume-toed Swiftlet can be separated from the other two swiftlets by its glossy black upperparts and grey throat. Asian Palm Swift is also swiftlet-sized but with a much slimmer body and longer tail.

The needletails and Fork-tailed Swift are mostly observed as passage migrants: some hotspots are along the Southern Ridges and Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. The Aerodramus swiftlets range widely and can be found nearly anywhere; so can House Swift, but it is not as frequently encountered. Asian Palm Swift favours open areas. Plume-toed Swiftlet prefers forest, but can be found in forest edge and wooded parks as well.

All Singapore's swifts feed entirely on the wing, snatching insects such as ants, termites, bees, and moths in the beak. Many forage in loose, mixed flocks with swallows and other swiftlets, wheeling low over open ground or high overhead.