Phylum: Chordata - Class: Aves - Order: Apodiformes - Family: Apodidae
Identification - Distribution - Lifecycle - Food - Predators - Reference Sources
This summer visitor, which breeds in Britain and is most numerous in the south and west, usually arrives in early May and is often seen near towns and villages during the summer months.
The male and female are similar in appearance, with long, curved wings that help them make rapid flights and spectacular aerial displays.
Swifts are brilliant fliers very rarely come to ground. Their nests, which are usually in colonies, are quite often in barns or in crevices in old buildings.
This page includes pictures kindly contributed by Melvin Grey.