Common Swift

Apus apus

Family: Swifts · Status: Vagrant · Size: 17 cm · Conservation: Least Concern

Range

Breeds across Europe and central and east Asia, wintering in sub-Saharan Africa.

Identification

Has dark grey overall plumage, long sickle-shaped wings, forked tail, and a pale forehead and sharply demarcated pale throat. Separated from Fork-tailed Swift by the absence of the white rump, lack of scaled underparts and more sharply demarcated pale throat patch.

Habitat

An exclusively aerial species on migration over open habitats.

Behaviour

Feeds on insects while in flight.