Swifts are accomplished fliers, spending most of their life in the air.

Life span
Swifts have been known to live as long as 22 years.

Statistics
Length: 17-21cm, Wingspan: 40-44cm.

Physical Description
Swifts have a very streamlined appearance. The plumage is a dull brown colour and they have a white chin. The wings are long and pointed, and the tail is short and forked. They cannot perch and the feet are small, with all four toes pointing forward.

Distribution
They also inhabit Europe, Asia and Africa.

Habitat
Swifts nest in colonies in holes in caves, trees or, more frequently, buildings.

Diet
The swift feeds on ‘aerial plankton’, which consists of small insects and spiders light enough to be carried quite high by air currents.

Behaviour
Swifts spend nearly all of their lives in the air, landing only to build nests and to feed their young. They are even able to sleep while flying. They are migratory birds, leaving Britain in late July or early August and spending the winter in sub-Saharan Africa. They return to Britain in late April or early May for the breeding season.

Reproduction
Swifts pair for life. They do not need to land in order to mate - they do it in the air. They will land in order to find places to build a nest. They build nests using a mixture of clay, blades of grass, straw and leaves glued together with their gelatinous saliva. The nest is lined with hairs and feathers. Nesting material is generally collected while the bird is on the wing as swifts find it very difficult to become airborne after landing on flat ground. The female lays 2-3 white eggs and incubates them for 18 days while the male feeds her. The young are fed on insects and spiders mixed in with the parents’ sticky saliva. Swift parents may bring around 40 meals to the chicks in a single day. The young leave the nest 6 weeks after hatching and are immediately able to fly. After leaving the nest it may be several months or even years before the swift lands again.

Conservation status
Common swifts are not listed by the IUCN Red List.

Voice
When in flocks, they emit a loud screaming sound.

Notes
A relative of the common swift found in Southeast Asia, Collocalia fucifaga, builds nests that are used to make bird’s nest soup.