The Common Swift - Apus apus -  is special in many ways, the body is the perfect development for flying in the air. It does everything in the air, except breeding. It finds its prey there and feeds on the wing. It preens and plays in the air. It sleeps there most of the time. It mates and collects nesting material on the wing. It drinks while flying or takes showers when its bill dives and splashes water.

The Common Swift is blackish-brown except for a small white or pale grey patch on the chin. They have a short forked tail and very long swept-back wings. These birds have very short legs which they use only for clinging to vertical surfaces.

Common Swifts are migratory and in midsummer they are found in the UK and Europe and winter in Southern Africa. These swifts have been known to live for as long as 21 years and can survive bad weather by entering what is called torpor, a coma-like condition in which its metabolism slows to almost nothing. 

The call is a loud scream in two different tone pitches, of which the higher one is from the female and the lower one from the male. They often form 'screaming parties' during summer evenings where about 10-15 gather and fly around in circles calling.

Common Swifts spend most of their lives in the air, living on the insects they catch in their beaks. It feeds exclusively on arthropods, especially insects, foraging at much higher altitudes than local-breeding swifts, often reaching heights of 1500-3000 m above ground. It usually flies at 36-90 km/hr, but it has been known to reach 216 km/hr in certain conditions! If it is cold and wet it descends lower, often feeding on termite alate emergences. Interestingly, it is permanently airborne in its non-breeding grounds, roosting on the wing.

Common Swifts fly at least 560 miles per day during the nesting season.

It is faithful to its breeding place arriving around the 1st May in Central Europe. It's the last to arrive at its northern breeding grounds and the first to leave. They build their nests in all suitable hollows in buildings, under window sills, in the corner rafters of wooden buildings, in chimneys, and in smokestacks. They also breed in holes of caves or hollows of trees. Nowadays they mostly use holes in walls or a free space under the eves of houses. They accept nest boxes too and don't fear humans. A swift will return to the same nesting site year after year, rebuilding its nest when necessary. Swifts lay 2-3 eggs and incubate and hatch the chicks together. Young swifts in the nest can drop their body temperature and become torpid if bad weather prevents their parents from catching insects nearby.  At the end of July the young will leave the nest. Around the 1st of August the parents will leave Central Europe for Africa. 

 Common Swift nests commonly support populations of the Chewing Louse and the Louse fly.

Conservation Status: - Least concern.

Not threatened, in fact has a stable estimated population of 25 million individuals.

These very special birds can be seen in the southern summer months on the following Aves Birding Tours/Safaris/Adventures: -

Aves Arid Birding Tour / Safari /Adventure.

Aves Eastern Cape Birding Tour / Safari /Adventure.

Aves Highlands / Tembe Birding Tour / Safari / Adventure.

Aves KZN Birding Tour / Safari / Adventure.

Aves North East Birding Tour / Safari / Adventure.

Aves North West Birding Tour / Safari / Adventure.

Aves Western Cape Birding Tour / Safari / Adventure.

Aves West Coast Birding Tour / Safari /Adventure.