Common Swift

The Common Swift is a master of the air. It has scythe-shaped wings and spends almost its entire life in flight. It is soot-black with a small pale throat patch. It often appears as a dark silhouette against the sky. Swifts are summer visitors to Europe, arriving in May and leaving in August. They are highly dependent on old buildings for nesting.

Except when nesting, a swift never touches the ground. They eat, mate, and even sleep while flying, drifting at high altitudes during the night. Groups fly at high speeds around rooftops at dusk, filling the air with piercing 'shree' calls. They feed exclusively on wind-carried insects and spiders.