Champion Species: Swift

Apus apus

Did you know:

The swift is a medium-sized bird that sleeps, eats, bathes and mates on the wing. They rarely touch the ground. Swifts are summer visitors to the National Landscape and can be seen feeding over fields and rivers, displaying their scythe-like wings and short, forked tail. Swifts pair for life and return to the same site each year to breed. Swifts like to live in old buildings, squeezing through small gaps to nest in roofs. As old buildings are renovated swift nest sites are lost. They are now globally threatened and nationally in decline. Climate change and severe weather events across Europe may affect migratory patterns. Installing swift bricks or nest boxes in renovated or new buildings could help reverse declines.

champion species badge of a swift

Fun Fact: 

Did you know that swifts are known for being averse to landing and spend most of their lives in flight. They eat, drink, sleep and mate in mid-air, and only land to raise their young!

Identification & Voice:

Swifts are dark, appearing black against the sky, with a small pale patch on the throat (often difficult to see in flight). They have long, pointed wings held in a "boomerang" shape, and a short, forked tail. 

Swifts make a high-pitched, screaming call, which is how they get their name "screaming party" when flying in group.

Web link: