Newsletter / Blog
2012-02-28 What bird family has the shortest legs in the world?
Swifts have the shortest legs. They have four small pointing toes
which enable them to cling to vertical surfaces. They are unable to perch on
twigs or wires.
Swifts are of the family, Apodidae, and are highly aerial birds. They
occur on all the continents, though not in the far north or large deserts, and
on many oceanic islands. Swifts of temperate regions are strongly migratory and
winter in the tropics. In a single year the common swift can cover at least 200,000 km.
The Following
Swifts can be seen in Southern Africa and on Aves Birding Tours/Safaris/Adventures: -
African
Palm-Swift – Cypsiurus parvus
Alpine Swift – Tachymarptis
melba
Little Swift – Apus
affinis
White-rumped
Swift – Apus caffer
Horus Swift – Apus
horus
Common Swift – Apus
apus
African Black
Swift – Apus barbatus
Bradfield’s Swift
– Apus bradfieldi
Mottled Swift – Tachymarptis
aequatorialis
Scarce Swift – Schoutenapus
mypotilus |