Common swift

For the moth Korscheltellus lupulina, see Common swift moth.

Common swift
In Barcelona, Spain
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Clade: Strisores
Order: Apodiformes
Family: Apodidae
Genus: Apus
Species:
A. apus
Binomial name
Apus apus
Range of A. apus
  Breeding range
  Wintering range
Synonyms

Hirundo apus Linnaeus, 1758
Cypselus apus

Common Swift chicks

The common swift (Apus apus) is a medium-sized bird, superficially similar to the barn swallow or house martin but somewhat larger, though not stemming from those passerine species, being in the order Apodiformes. The resemblances between the groups are due to convergent evolution, reflecting similar contextual development. The swifts' nearest relatives are the New World hummingbirds and the Southeast Asian treeswifts.

Its scientific name Apus is Latin for a swift, thought by the ancients to be a type of swallow with no feet (from Ancient Greek α, a, "without", and πούς, pous, "foot").[3]

Swifts have very short legs which they use primarily for clinging to vertical surfaces (hence the German name Mauersegler, literally meaning "wall-glider"). They never settle voluntarily on the ground where they would be vulnerable to accidents and predation, and non-breeding individuals may spend up to ten months in continuous flight.[4]

  1. ^ BirdLife International (2014). "Apus apus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2014: e.T22686800A62552970. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-2.RLTS.T22686800A62552970.en.
  2. ^ BirdLife International (2021). "Apus apus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2021: e.T22686800A62552970. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-2.RLTS.T22686800A62552970.en.
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